Department for Transport

Travel Information: Christmas

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help ensure that passengers receive clear communications regarding transport changes over the Christmas and New Year period 2022-23.

Huw Merriman: We expect very low levels of planned services to run across the Christmas and New Year period, with considerable regional variation. While generally few rail services run during bank holidays, passengers’ travel will regrettably be affected. Passenger communications are being led by industry, which is running an ongoing public information campaign throughout the Christmas and early New Year period. This has clear messaging for strike and non-strike days deployed across broadcast, print and social media, and includes information displayed at stations. Passengers are being advised to travel only if absolutely necessary on rail strike days and on Christmas Eve and advised to plan ahead and check first and last train times. Overall awareness of ongoing strike/industrial action is at 94 per cent (source: Yonder - independent market research organisation - carried out 9 - 11 December 2022).

Train Operating Companies

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2022 to Question 104324, on Train Operating Companies, if he will list the dates (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have met with representatives from the train operating companies in each month since December 2021.

Huw Merriman: As stated in Question 104324 the Department meets regularly with representatives from train operating companies to discuss a range of topics as part of its contractual relationships with them.

Railways: Strikes

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government requested that driverless trains were included in negotiations to avert strike action on the railways ahead of Christmas 2022.

Huw Merriman: The Government made no such request.

East Coast Main Line: Fares

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the results of the Single Leg Pricing fares trial in operation for certain journeys on the East Coast Main Line since January 2020.

Huw Merriman: The Department has conducted a review of the Single Leg Pricing fares trial on London North Eastern Railway (LNER). The report is being finalised and we intend to publish the findings in due course.

Railways: Strikes

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of railway strikes on growth.

Huw Merriman: The industry is making considerable efforts to keep as much of the railway running for passengers and freight. However, strikes have a hugely negative impact, and come at a significant cost to our economy, affecting a wide range of businesses and sectors. My Department is taking part in regular roundtables and discussions with those industries most disrupted by industrial action, so we understand the concerns of businesses and passenger groups

Railways: Tickets

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to replace the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the (a) relevance and (b) applicability of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement to railway services in 2022.

Huw Merriman: The Ticketing and Settlement Agreement sets out industry rules and practices relating to fares, ticketing, retail and the carriage of passengers. We are committed to modernising working practices, simplifing and improving passengers’ experience of buying tickets, and to ensure passengers get the support they need from staff when using the railways. Part of this will involve working with industry to consider how these practices should be governed in future.

Railways: Tickets

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the new Consolidated Online Retail System for new rail retail provision will be procured by the Rail Delivery Group.

Huw Merriman: We are continuing to work with the sector, including the Rail Delivery Group, to tackle the challenges required by rail reform, including improving online retail for the benefit of passengers. This work will include further engagement with suppliers, and we will provide an update in due course.

Railways: Tickets

Paul Bristow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the consolidated online retail solution will (a) retain competition in the digital rail retail and ticketing markets and (b) not lead to a retail monopoly.

Huw Merriman: Under any rail reform proposals, independent retailers will continue to play an important role and we value their expertise and innovation and engage with them on these issues.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund: Warwick and Leamington

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes were retrofitted as a result of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator in the Warwick &amp; Leamington constituency as of 24 November 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to investing £6.6bn in energy efficiency, the Autumn Statement announced an additional £6bn from 2025-2028. The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator awarded £58.4m of grant funding, delivering from 2021 into 2022, with £1.35m awarded to Warwick District Council to retrofit homes in Leamington. Warwick District Council voluntarily withdrew from the Demonstrator Project in March 2022, the grant awarded has been returned to BEIS. The SHDF Wave 2.1 competition will allocate up to £800m of grant funding, with successful projects notified around March 2023.

Care Homes and Sheltered Housing: Energy

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking fiscal steps with Cabinet colleagues to support (a) housing associations and (b) tenants with the cost of gas and electricity for communal spaces in (i) sheltered, (ii) extra care and (iii) nursing homes.

Graham Stuart: Communal residential spaces may be under a commercial energy contract, covered by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS). This provides a price reduction to ensure that eligible businesses, charities and public sector organisations are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. If the communal area is covered by a domestic energy contract, it may be eligible for the Energy Bill Support Scheme. An intermediary that will or has received support from any of the above schemes is required to pass support on to end-users in a just and reasonable way.

Environment Protection: Capital Investment

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to engage with regulators to ensure the necessary support for market development for investment in green industry.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to creating the required market conditions to mobilise investment into green industries. Many of the UK’s regulators will play a role in facilitating delivery of the infrastructure, technologies and activities that will deliver the net zero transition. In the the Net Zero Strategy, the Government set out several examples of how it is working with different regulators for example on the publication of the Strategic Policy Statement for Ofgem. The Government is working closely with regulators including FCA, the Bank of England, and IFRS to roll out climate-related disclosures, to provide confidence to businesses and investors on the risks and opportunities within UK green industries.

Renewable Energy: Capital Investment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to further develop a market for investment in green industry.

Graham Stuart: Driving investment into UK green energy and industries is a priority for this Government. Since March 2021, the Government has committed £30 billion of domestic green investment. The Government is establishing the regulatory frameworks that will spur investment into green projects – such as through the Energy Bill. The Government is also working closely with DIT to communicate its plans more effectively to private investors. Over the course of this year, the Government has published net zero roadmaps tailored to the investment community for example on Hydrogen and carbon capture as well as hosting the UK’s inaugural Green Trade and Investment Expo.

Renewable Energy: Lancaster and Fleetwood

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to increase funding for renewable energy sources in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.

Graham Stuart: Grant funding for renewable innovation or community-based renewable schemes is open for both local authorities and private investors to bid. The Contract for Difference scheme, the Government’s main mechanism for supporting low carbon generation, is awarded through a competitive process, ensuring that the most cost-effective projects are supported regardless of their location.

Housing: Energy

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase the rate of energy efficiency measure installations in homes in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to improving the energy performance of homes across the country, including in Lancaster and Fleetwood. The Government is already investing £6.6 billion over this parliament on decarbonising heat and energy efficiency measures. An additional £6 billion of new Government funding, announced in the Autumn Statement, will be made available from 2025 to 2028. This provides long-term funding certainty, supporting the growth of supply chains, and ensuring we can scale up our delivery over time.

Energy Company Obligation: Lancaster and Fleetwood

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes have had ECO scheme measures installed in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS publishes information on the number of households in receipt of ECO measures by Parliamentary Constituency in Table 4.5 accompanying the latest Household Energy Efficiency Statistics release.

Green Deal Scheme: Lancaster and Fleetwood

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many projects have been completed in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency through the Green Deal as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that at the end of October 2022, there were 9 ‘live’ Green Deal plans (all measures installed) and 12 'completed' plans (all measures installed and paid off) in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.

Green Homes Grant Scheme: Lancaster and Fleetwood

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many jobs did the Green Homes Grant support in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.

Graham Stuart: An evaluation of the effectiveness of the voucher scheme, including analysis of scheme outcomes and evidence collected from scheme applicants and other stakeholders, is being undertaken by an independent research organisation. The evaluation includes an assessment of the effect of the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme on jobs, with findings available in Summer 2023.

Green Homes Grant Scheme: Lancaster and Fleetwood

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what was the average amount given to homeowners who had successful applications to the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applications for the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme were successful in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that the average government contribution per successful household application to the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency was £4,410 for the main scheme and £6,199 for the low-income scheme. Information on the number of applications by application stage for Green Homes Grant voucher (GHGV) scheme by parliamentary constituency can be found in table 4.4 accompanying the latest release.

Energy Bill Relief Scheme: Wakefield

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises in Wakefield constituency are receiving the correct level of support under the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Bill Relief Scheme is set out clearly in legislation so will be applied in a uniform way by all licensed suppliers. The regulations include a robust compliance and enforcement regime to ensure requirements are being met. Suppliers are also required to inform customers about the details of support, including the amount of the discount and discounted supply price.

Tidal Power: Morecambe

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will undertake a feasibility study for a tidal energy project in Morecambe Bay.

Graham Stuart: The Government is open to considering well-developed proposals for harnessing the tidal range energy in the bays and estuaries around our coastlines, including barrage schemes and other alternatives. Revised guidance in the energy National Policy Statement will be published shortly.

Tidal Power

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which tidal energy schemes his Department is providing support to.

Graham Stuart: Over 40MW of new tidal stream power has been secured via the Contracts for Difference scheme for low carbon generation in Allocation Round 4. Full results of the auction are available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1103022/contracts-for-difference-allocation-round-4-results.pdf This builds on long-standing Government support for wave and tidal power research and development, with over £175m having been invested in this area over the last two decades.

Government: Carbon Emissions and Climate Change

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made on the adequacy of (a) national policy and (b) regulatory frameworks on enabling (i) local, (ii) regional, (iii) national and (iv) devolved governments to work more effectively in partnership towards Net Zero and adapting to climate change.

Graham Stuart: The Government’s net zero target covers the whole UK, and all four parts of the UK have an integral role to play in delivering the Government’s carbon budgets. The UK Government is working closely with local government and partners in the devolved administrations to achieve its carbon emission reduction ambitions and net zero targets. The Domestic and Economic Affairs (Energy, Climate and Net Zero) Cabinet Committee leads on bringing together departments to consider matters relating to energy, and to ensure the effective delivery of the United Kingdom’s domestic and international climate strategy leading up to the net zero 2050 target.

Energy Bill Relief Scheme: Hospitality Industry

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to extend the Energy Bill Relief Scheme beyond April 2023 for hospitality businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Graham Stuart: HM Treasury is currently conducting a review of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and evidence from the hospitality sector is included in that. However, the Government cannot confirm which sectors will receive further support after 31st March 2023 until the end of the review, which will report by the end of the year 2022.

Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project

Sir Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with Xlinks on the price of electricity it might supply to the national grid from solar power generated in Morocco.

Sir Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what factors he will take into account in negotiations to agree with Xlinks a price for the electricity it will supply to the National Grid; and how he will ensure value for money in public spending on the interconnector project.

Graham Stuart: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has had early stage discussions with Xlinks about their proposal to import renewable electricity from Morocco to the UK. The Department has not undertaken a detailed assessment of the value for money of any supply from this project. Any assessment would be in accordance with established processes for managing public money.

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with oil and gas companies on the potential impact of proposed developments in the North Sea on the UK's climate targets.

Graham Stuart: The Government has regular wide-ranging discussions with the oil and gas industry.

Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency: Complaints

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning an independent inquiry into the way cavity wall insulation complaints have been handled by the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency.

Graham Stuart: The Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency / Insulation Assurance Authority is a TrustMark scheme provider and is required to operate within TrustMark’s Framework Operating Requirements, which covers financial protection. Any concerns regarding CIGA shared with the department have been investigated and followed up with CIGA where appropriate. However, the Government does not intervene in any relationship between insurance or guarantee providers and customers with cavity wall insulation.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) direct and (b) indirect jobs that could be created in floating offshore wind in (i) Wales and (ii) the UK in the next five years.

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of floating offshore wind on the economy.

Graham Stuart: Offshore wind is an important growth industry for the UK. We estimate the 50GW ambition outlined in the British Energy Security Strategy, including up to 5GW of innovative floating offshore wind, could support an estimated 90,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030. The UK is already a world leader in floating offshore wind, with more installed capacity than any other country and a strong and growing pipeline of floating offshore wind projects. This includes an expected 4GW upcoming in the Celtic Sea leasing round, with the potential for up to an additional 20GW in the Celtic Sea by 2045.

Energy: Carers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the cost of energy for unpaid carers; and if he would take steps to provide additional assistance to unpaid carers to help fund their energy costs.

Graham Stuart: The Government is delivering the Energy Bills Support Scheme, a £400 non-repayable grant to support all families with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will save a typical household in Great Britain £900 this Winter. The Government is currently reviewing the EPG. This consultation will explore the best ways to ensure that vulnerable high energy users, such as those with medical requirements, are not put at risk of having to pay more. Households on means tested benefits, including Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Tax Credits, were also granted a payment of £650 this year between the summer and November paid automatically in two instalments to support with energy bills

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the minimum tariffs that energy suppliers are required to offer homeowners who contribute electricity generated by solar panels on their property.

Graham Stuart: The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a cost-reflective and market led mechanism and it is for suppliers to determine the value of the exported electricity and to take account of the administrative costs associated when setting their tariffs. Ofgem reports annually on the range, nature and uptake of tariffs offered by suppliers in response to their SEG obligations. The Government will continue to review this to monitor whether the market is delivering an effective range of options for small exporters. To date, the market has responded positively, with a range of SEG tariffs.

Energy Supply

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons might an individual be refused application to join a Priority Services Register.

Graham Stuart: Ofgem requires all energy suppliers to provide and maintain a Priority Services Register for eligible vulnerable consumers. Ofgem provides details of those that are eligible for the Priority Services Register on their website: www.ofgem.gov.uk/get-help-your-supplier-priority-services-register.

Energy Supply

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to monitor (a) the numbers of and (b) reasons for refused applications to the Priority Services Register.

Graham Stuart: The Government does not monitor the Priority Services Register. Ofgem requires all energy suppliers to provide and maintain a Priority Services Register for eligible vulnerable consumers. Ofgem provides details of those that are eligible for the Priority Services Register on their website: www.ofgem.gov.uk/get-help-your-supplier-priority-services-register

Energy Supply: Advertising

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department spent on (a) advertising the availability of and (b) registration of individuals onto a utilities Priority Services Register.

Graham Stuart: Condition 26 of Ofgem’s gas and electricity supply licence conditions requires suppliers to identify consumers who are eligible for the Priority Service Register and offer to add any or all of the Minimum Details to the Priority Services Register during interactions.Details regarding the PSR are available to the public on Ofgem’s website, which can be accessed here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/get-help-your-supplier-priority-services-register

Energy Supply

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to help register people onto a utilities Priority Services Register.

Graham Stuart: Condition 26 of Ofgem’s gas and electricity supply licence conditions requires suppliers to identify consumers who are eligible for the Priority Service Register and offer to add any or all of the Minimum Details to the Priority Services Register during interactions.

Energy Supply: Wales

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people are on a Priority Services Register and for which utility company in (a) Cynon Valley constituency, (b) Rhondda Cynon Taff local authority and (c) Wales.

Graham Stuart: The Government does not collect this data. According to Ofgem’s statistics, as of 31st December 2021, 406,819 and 347,146 consumers in Wales were on the Priority Services Register for electricity and gas respectively. Ofgem does not collect data at a constituency or local authority level.

Green Homes Grant Scheme: Hounslow

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many applications for the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme were successful in (a) Brentford and Isleworth constituency and (b) the London Borough of Hounslow.

Graham Stuart: Information on the number of applications by application stage for Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme by local authority and parliamentary constituency can be found in tables 4.3 and 4.4 respectively accompanying the latest release.

Green Homes Grant Scheme: Hounslow

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes were retrofitted as a result of the Green Homes Grant in the London Borough of Hounslow as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: Information on the number of households with at least one measure installed by local authority for the Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme be found in table 4.3 accompanying the latest release. Information on the number of households upgraded under the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery scheme can be found in table 8 accompanying the latest release.

Heating: Technology

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has a strategy for the roll-out of nano-boron technology in heat pipes and heat exchange technologies across the UK.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of nano-boron heat transfer technology in lowering the UK's overall energy use.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of nano-boron heat transfer technology for lowering the UK's overall carbon emissions.

Graham Stuart: The use of nanotechnology in heat pipes and heat exchange is an early stage research which has the potential to improve the efficiency of low carbon heat pumps and thereby reducing the resulting demand on the electricity system. The Department is funding some promising research through its Energy Entrepreneurs Fund scheme and hopes to see this leads to improvements in the technology in the near future.

Tidal Power: Severn Estuary

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has plans to harness the tidal power of the Severn Estuary.

Graham Stuart: The Government is open to considering well-developed proposals for harnessing the tidal range energy in the bays and estuaries around our coastlines, including barrage schemes and other alternatives. Revised guidance in the energy National Policy Statement will be published shortly.

Energy: Disability

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to provide disabled people with further energy financial support.

Graham Stuart: The Government is delivering the Energy Bills Support Scheme, a £400 non-repayable grant to support all families with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will save a typical household in Great Britain £900 this Winter. In addition, disabled people are also entitled to a one-off £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. The Government is currently reviewing the EPG. This consultation will explore the best ways to ensure that vulnerable high energy users, such as those with medical requirements, are not put at risk of having to pay more.

Government: Carbon Emissions and Climate Change

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of national policy and regulatory frameworks at helping (a) local, (b) regional, (c) national and (d) devolved governments to (i) achieve Net Zero and (ii) adapt to climate change..

Graham Stuart: The Government’s net zero target covers the whole UK, and all four parts of the UK have an integral role to play in delivering the Government’s carbon budgets. The UK Government is working closely with local government and partners in the devolved administrations to achieve our carbon emission reduction ambitions and net zero targets. The Domestic and Economic Affairs (Energy, Climate and Net Zero) Cabinet Committee leads on bringing together departments to consider matters relating to energy, and to ensure the effective delivery of the United Kingdom’s domestic and international climate strategy leading up to the net zero 2050 target.

Local Government: Carbon Emissions

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of UK100's report entitled Local Net Zero Delivery Progress Report: Local Powers, published on 12 July 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Net Zero Strategy sets out its commitments to enable local areas to deliver net zero and recognises that local authorities can, and do, play an essential role in driving local climate action. UK100’s Local Net Zero Delivery Progress Report forms part of a growing body of evidence and views on Local Net Zero.

Carbon Emissions: Capital Investment

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure the UK becomes a centre of excellence for developing, procuring and delivering Net Zero project investment.

Graham Stuart: Driving investment into net zero is a priority for the Government and backing its ambition with specific policies. The Government has committed £30 billion of public green investment and is putting in place regulatory frameworks to spur private investment into green projects, such as through the Energy Bill. Its policies are expected to drive an unprecedented £100 billion of private investment and support 480,000 jobs by 2030. The Government has already made significant progress - Bloomberg estimates that in 2021, £24 billion of new green investment was committed in the UK across sectors like clean energy, heating and transport.

Environment Protection: Capital Investment

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to scale up local authority-led green investment opportunities to make them more attractive to institutional investors.

Graham Stuart: The Green Finance Strategy, supported by the Greening Financing Roadmap, sets out how the Government is working with local authorities and institutional investors to attract finance into green investment opportunities. As part of the Government’s overall approach, the BEIS Local Net Zero Hubs support local authorities to develop net zero projects that can attract commercial investment. In 2022 there was a call for evidence to update the Green Finance Strategy, and this asked for evidence on how local authorities can best support the mobilisation of public and private investment. An updated Green Finance Strategy will be published in due course.

Carbon Emissions: Finance

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that lessons learned from the UK Investment Bank local lending pilots will be integrated into policy on financing Net Zero.

Graham Stuart: The UK Investment Bank pilots will be taken into account in the ongoing policy work on financing net zero.

Local Net Zero Forum

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the first Ministerial meeting of the Local Net Zero Forum will take place.

Graham Stuart: A meeting between Ministers and local government leaders is expected to take place early in the new year.

Housing: Birmingham Selly Oak

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency with cavity walls have been insulated as of 13 December 2022.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency with lofts had loft insulation installed as of 13 December 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), Green Deal (GD), and Green Homes Grant (GHG) Government schemes, around 1,700 cavity wall insulation measures and 1,300 loft insulation measures have been installed in Birmingham, Selly Oak constituency as at end of October 2022.

Energy Company Obligation: Kingston upon Hull North

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes have had ECO scheme measures installed in Kingston upon Hull North constituency as of 24 November 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS publishes information on the number of households in receipt of ECO measures by Parliamentary Constituency in Table 4.5 accompanying the latest Household Energy Efficiency Statistics release. It is estimated that 4,343 households have had ECO measures installed in Kingston upon Hull North constituency up to end September 2022.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Kingston upon Hull North

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people had received the Warm Homes Discount in Kingston upon Hull North as of 24 November 2022.

Graham Stuart: Energy suppliers are responsible for providing rebates to eligible households and are only required to report on the number of rebates provided in England, Scotland and Wales. The Government does not hold data on the number of rebate recipients by constituency.

Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme: Kingston upon Hull North

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding through grants the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme had provided to public sector bodies in Kingston upon Hull North constituency as of 24 November 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not hold a breakdown of Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme funding by constituency. Lists of all projects funded through the scheme can be found on the scheme’s gov.uk page: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/public-sector-decarbonisation-scheme

Wind Power: Costs

Craig Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his Department’s published estimates of levelized cost of electricity generation, which formulae are used to model (a) the decline of an individual windfarm's output and (b) the change in an individual windfarm's annual operating costs over its operational lifetime.

Graham Stuart: Currently the Government does not model degradation of wind turbine output nor changes in operating costs with time, but instead uses lifetime average values to calculate mean levelised cost of electricity.[1] [1]https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-generation-cost-projections

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Energy

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which energy provider supplies energy to their Department; how much carbon dioxide was emitted by their Department in the latest period for which figures are available; whether the criteria their Department uses to select an energy supplier include how environmentally friendly that supplier is; and what recent steps their Department has taken to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its energy use.

Graham Stuart: At the Department’s headquarters building at 1 Victoria Street, London, the gas supplier is Total Gas and Power and the electricity supplier is EDF. Greenhouse gas emissions figures are published in the Greening Government Commitments Annual Report and the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts. Crown Commercial Service (CCS) operates a centralised energy procurement strategy for central government and is responsible for selecting the gas and power supply companies on behalf of all departments. CCS is currently conducting its latest tender round and the supplier’s environmental credentials will be part of the selection criteria. The Department has carried out energy efficiency measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including upgrading lighting to LEDs, upgrading the Building Management System and installing electrical sub-metering.

Energy: Government Assistance

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing an energy assistance payment to help families with the cost of running lifesaving medical equipment at home.

Graham Stuart: The Government is delivering the Energy Bills Support Scheme, a £400 non-repayable grant to support all families with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will save a typical household in Great Britain £900 this Winter. In addition, families with disabled children are entitled to a one-off £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment. The Government is currently reviewing the EPG. The consultation will explore the best ways to ensure that vulnerable high energy users, such as those with medical requirements, are not put at risk of having to pay more.

Energy Price Guarantee

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he made of the needs of families with seriously ill and disabled children who need to run lifesaving medical equipment at home when determining his policy on the energy price guarantee.

Graham Stuart: The Government is delivering the Energy Bills Support Scheme, a £400 non-repayable grant to support all families with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will save a typical household in Great Britain £900 this Winter. In addition, families with disabled children are entitled to a one-off £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment.The Government is currently reviewing the EPG. The consultation will explore the best ways to ensure that vulnerable high energy users, such as those with medical requirements, are not put at risk of having to pay more.

Hunterston Port

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning's decision on decommissioning facilities at the Hunterston Port.

Graham Stuart: I can confirm that I have held no discussions regarding the decision to decommission facilities at the Hunterston Port. Oil and gas operators are required to submit a Decommissioning Programme to the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning for approval. Any site selected for the works must be appropriately licensed and able to demonstrate a proven disposal track record.

Small Businesses: Energy

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help support small businesses with their energy bills in winter 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) came into force on 1 November and provides a price reduction to ensure that all eligible businesses are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. EBRS is saving some businesses around half of their wholesale energy costs. The scheme applies to energy usage from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023.

Heating: Fossil Fuels

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of his policy on phasing out the installation of fossil fuel heating in homes off the gas grid on (a) house owners and (b) businesses.

Graham Stuart: The Government published impact assessments alongside the consultations entitled “Phasing out the installation of fossil fuel heating in homes off the gas grid” and “Phasing out the installation of fossil fuel heating systems in businesses and public buildings off the gas grid”, on the 19 October 2021. The Government will respond to those consultations and set out further details on our plans to decarbonise off grid properties in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Carbon Emissions

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 1 October 2019 to Question 290324 on Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Energy Supply, whether his Department remains committed to reducing the impact of its operations on the environment and achieving net zero emissions by 2025; and if he will provide an update on the progress taken to date.

Graham Stuart: BEIS is working towards achieving the Greening Government Commitments which set out the actions that UK government departments and their agencies will take to reduce their impacts on the environment, including targets for departmental reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, with current targets for the period 2021-25. BEIS is committed to contributing towards the UK government’s net zero by 2050 target. The response to the PQ 290324 from 2019, suggested BEIS had a net zero target of 2025 which is incorrect. In 2019/20 BEIS had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 72% compared to a 2009/10 baseline.

Energy Efficiency Taskforce

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2022 to Question 92183 on Green Homes Grant Scheme, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Energy Efficiency Taskforce in reducing levels in the demand for energy by (a) households, (b) businesses and (c) the public sector.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2022 to Question 92183 on Green Homes Grant Scheme, what recent progress his Department has made on reducing energy demand from buildings and industry by 15 per cent by 2030.

Graham Stuart: More details on the scope and membership of the Taskforce will be announced in due course.

Energy: Houseboats

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Answer of 25 November to Question 89897, Energy: Houseboats, what steps he is taking to (a) identify houseboat residents and (b) ensure they receive their Energy Bills Support Scheme payments in a timely manner, and what steps he is taking to ensure they have parity of support with residents on terra firma when the EBRS discount scheme ends.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding will provide support of £400 for energy bills for households without a domestic electricity supply, including those who are off the energy grid entirely. This may include houseboats, subject to eligibility checks. Eligibility, timescales and method of delivery will be announced shortly. HM Treasury is currently conducting a review of the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme and evidence from a broad range of stakeholders has already been received. The Government intends to report on this by the end of the year.

Medical Equipment: Electricity

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to ensure that families of seriously ill children who rely on life-saving equipment at home are included on energy suppliers’ priority services registers.

Graham Stuart: Electricity network operators are obliged to maintain a Priority Services Register to ensure support is given to the most vulnerable customers during power disruptions. Customers who would be vulnerable during a power cut, such as children who are medically dependent on electricity, should be signed up for the Priority Services Register directly with their Energy Supplier or Distribution Network Operator. Those who require a continuous supply of electricity for medical reasons and would need medical support during a power cut, should seek advice from their medical equipment provider and local health service provider.

Palliative Care: Children

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to prioritise children’s hospice and palliative care providers for targeted financial support when the non-domestic Energy Bill Relief Scheme ends in March 2023.

Graham Stuart: HM Treasury is currently conducting a review of the EBRS and evidence from care providers is included. However, the Government cannot confirm which sectors will receive further support after 31st March 2023 until the end of the review, which will be reported by the end of the year 2022.

Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult has (a) introduced and (b) implemented technical innovations in the use of tidal power barrages since it was established.

Graham Stuart: The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult continues to engage with tidal barrage developers. However, there have been no commercial projects so far to introduce and implement technical innovation in this sector.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Carbon Emissions

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, by what date they expect their Department to be carbon neutral in its day to day operations.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to delivering Net Zero by 2050. Central Government reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in 2019-20 compared to a 2009-10 baseline, exceeding its target of 43%. The Greening Government Commitments set out the actions that UK government departments and their agencies will take to reduce their impacts on the environment, including targets for departmental reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, with current targets for the period 2021-25. The Department is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible and has ambitious targets under the Greening Government Commitments.

Energy: Prices

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an Energy Social Tariff.

Graham Stuart: As set out in the Autumn Statement, the Government will develop a new approach to consumer protection in energy markets, which will apply from April 2024 onwards. The Government is committed to work with consumer groups and industry to consider the best approach, including options such as social tariffs, as part of wider retail market reforms.

Fuels: Prices

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of market fluctuations in the price of diesel and home heating oil on household budgets; and what steps the Government is taking to help ensure security of supply of those fuels.

Graham Stuart: The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and fuel prices are an important component of UK households’ expenditure. The Government has set out a £37 billion package of support including the biggest ever cut to fuel duty rates – worth £5 billion. This also includes financial support for heating oil customers in the form of a £200 Alternative Fuel Payment. In light of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the Government has taken steps to end all imports of Russian fossil fuels. The UK has no issues with oil supply and is not dependent on Russian energy imports.

Wind Power

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to include micro urban wind turbines in the Government's solar and wind strategy.

Graham Stuart: The Government is serious about delivering cheaper, cleaner, more secure energy, and will consider all options for increasing electricity generation from renewable sources, including at the small-scale. The Government already supports small-scale onshore wind through the Smart Export Guarantee, which ensures small-scale (

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with energy suppliers on financial assistance and debt write-off for households not covered by the Warm Home Discount Scheme.

Graham Stuart: Ministers and officials regularly meet with Ofgem and suppliers to discuss a range of issues relating to the energy market. The Government introduced the ‘Breathing Space’ scheme which aims to address consumers’ ability to tackle debt and offers legal protections from creditors for 60 days. Under rules introduced by Ofgem, energy companies must set an appropriate repayment plan based on the customer’s ability to pay, for those at risk of or in debt.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households were eligible for the Warm Home Discount in (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2021-22.

Graham Stuart: Energy suppliers were able to expand their eligibility criteria for the Broader Group in previous scheme years, therefore it is not possible to determine how many households were eligible to apply for a rebate. In 2020/21, 2.26 million households received a rebate. In 2021/22, nearly 2.32 million households received a rebate. These figures were confirmed in Ofgem’s annual reports for scheme years 10 and 11.

Energy: Prices

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what (a) assessment he has made and (b) consultation he has carried out on the potential merits of introducing an energy social tariff.

Graham Stuart: As set out in the Autumn Statement, the Government will develop a new approach to consumer protection in energy markets, which will apply from April 2024 onwards. The Government is committed to working with consumer groups and industry to consider the best approach, including options such as social tariffs, as part of wider retail market reforms.

Business: Energy

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effectiveness of an energy price cap for businesses.

Graham Stuart: Applying a price cap in the non-domestic market is impractical given the number of different contractual arrangements, the range of prices offered and the risk of market distortion. The Energy Bill Relief Scheme has been designed to offer a comparable level of support to the domestic Energy Price Guarantee by applying a discount to the wholesale element of non-domestic customers’ bills. Legislation came into force on 1 November, shielding businesses across the United Kingdom from soaring energy prices and saving some around half of their wholesale energy costs.

Heating: Hydrogen

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with stakeholders on the safety aspects of the Hydrogen Village trials.

Graham Stuart: BEIS officials hold regular discussions with the Health and Safety Executive and with the gas network operators to ensure appropriate safety arrangements will be in place before any community trials of hydrogen heating.

Heating: Hydrogen

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of incorporating Hydrogen Village trials into new housing developments.

Graham Stuart: The Government has committed to ensuring that all new buildings in England are ready for Net Zero from 2025 to future-proof new homes and avoid the need for later retrofitting. The Government expects heat pumps will become the primary heating technology for new homes under the Future Homes Standard and, for this reason, the number of new housing developments in the trial areas was not a criterion used during the village trial design and selection process.

Hydrogen: Finance

Jane Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential development of (a) facilities and (b) technologies that could result from funding in hydrogen in (i) regions across the UK and (ii) the East Midlands.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Security Strategy doubled its ambition from 5GW to 10GW for low carbon production capacity by 2030 and will drive significant private sector investment across the value chain via the Hydrogen Business Model. The UK Hydrogen Strategy supports multiple production technologies with low carbon hydrogen providing opportunities for UK companies and workers across the UK. The Government analysis suggests that the sector could support over 12,000 jobs and unlock over £9 billion in private investment by 2030. The Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, a UK-wide £1 billion fund, will accelerate the commercialisation of innovative low-carbon technologies, systems and business models through the 2020s.

Alternative Fuel Payments

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department has provided to energy providers on how they should issue households that use alternative fuels with the Alternative Fuel Payment; and how energy providers will distinguish between eligible and ineligible households.

Graham Stuart: The Government has confirmed that the Alternative Fuel Payment will be made to all households in Northern Ireland. In Great Britain, the Government is working to identify the best route to ensure the payment reaches households who use alternative fuels. The Government is working closely with suppliers on scheme design and delivery considerations and will be providing further information and guidance soon.

Energy Bills Rebate: Applications

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that people who do not have access to the internet are able to apply for Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding.

Graham Stuart: The Government will provide access to a helpline for those who need to apply for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding but do not have internet access.

Air Pollution: Employment

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with trade unions on the exposure to high levels of air pollution of (a) people who work in drive throughs and (b) other workers.

Graham Stuart: Ministers regularly meet with external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings. The latest published data covers July to September 2022, further data will be published in due course. In line with Cabinet Office Guidance, organisations are listed instead of individuals.

Energy: Meters

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the performance of the ongoing migration of first generation smart meters to second generation smart meters.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the average time households wait for a first-generation smart meter be migrated to a second-generation smart meter.

Graham Stuart: First generation (SMETS1) smart meters are being remotely moved onto the national smart metering communications network, run by the Data Communications Company (DCC), so that consumers regain smart services and keep them if they switch energy supplier in the future. Second generation smart (SMETS2) meters are connected to the national network from the point of installation. BEIS does not hold data on the average time households wait for a smart meter to be migrated. However, the vast majority of SMETS1 meters – which had previously lost smart services – have now been connected to the national communications network. Industry is continuing work at pace to enrol remaining “active” SMETS1 meters, that are connected to energy suppliers’ own communications systems and continue to provide smart services. The Government continues to work closely with the DCC and energy suppliers to monitor and drive progress.

Ukraine: Generators

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November to Question 79297 on Ukraine: Energy, what the (a) type and (b) capacity is of the generators provided to Ukraine.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy provided a total of 856 generators to Ukraine. There was a range of capacity in generators provided: 3-9kVA (380), 10-14kVA (42), 15-35kVA (138), 40-50kVA (91), 60-75kVA (91), 80-90kVA (40), 100-175kVA (52), 200-330kVA (19) and 500+kVA (3).

Energy: Standing Charges

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the average daily standing energy charge in (a) Scotland and (b) the United Kingdom.

Graham Stuart: Under the Energy Price Guarantee, average standing charges for customers on default tariffs remain capped in line with the levels set (in Great Britain) by Ofgem for the default tariff cap from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, at 46p per day for electricity and 28p per day for gas, for a typical dual fuel customer paying by direct debit. Further information can be found at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/latest-energy-price-cap-announced-ofgem.

Energy: Standing Charges

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help lower daily standing energy charges.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to protecting consumers from the impact of high energy prices. Standing electricity charges are set by electricity suppliers in compliance with the Government's Energy Price Guarantee (EPG). A supplier's default and standard variable tariff unit rate and standing charge together must not exceed the level set by the EPG. On 7 July 2022, Ofgem launched a consultation on proposed changes to the standing charge methodology to reflect the energy use of individual households. Following engagement, Ofgem announced on 21 August that it would retain the current methodology in order to protect users with greater energy needs.

Electricity: Standing Charges

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will review the system which calculates the daily electricity unit price.

Graham Stuart: The Government has launched the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA), following a commitment in the British Energy Security Strategy. The recent consultation closed on 10th October and sets out our thinking so far. REMA is a major review into Britain’s electricity market design, which at present operates on the principle of marginal pricing, where the price of electricity is set by the last technology needed to meet overall electricity demand across Great Britain. The Government is considering a range of wholesale market reforms that could help to reduce the link between the gas and electricity price.

Heat Pumps

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make a comparative assessment of the potential impact of the earlier deadline for off-gas grid properties to transition to heat pumps on (a) households and (b) businesses that are (i) on and (ii) off the gas grid.

Graham Stuart: The Government published impact assessments alongside those consultations on the 19 October 2022. The Government will respond to those consultations and set out further details on its plans to decarbonise off grid properties in due course.

Housing: Heat Pumps and Renewable Energy

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) hydrotreated vegetable oil and (b) other alternative low-carbon solutions to heat pumps on the level of consumer choice.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) help increase the capture and reuse of used cooking oil and (b) support the domestic production of (i) hydrotreated vegetable oil and (ii) other low-carbon liquid fuels.

Graham Stuart: The Government published impact assessments alongside consultations on phasing out the installation of fossil fuel heating off the gas grid, on 19 October 2021. The Government will respond to those consultations and set out further details in due course. The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme continues to drive a market for low carbon liquid fuels. Under the RTFO scheme, sustainable low carbon liquid fuels, including hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), are eligible for support when used in road transport and forms of non-road mobile machinery, with waste-based fuels such as HVO derived from used cooking oil benefitting from twice the reward available to low carbon fuels produced from crops.

Heating: Fossil Fuels

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his planned timetable is for publishing Government responses to the consultations entitled (a) Phasing out the installation of fossil fuel heating in homes off the gas grid and (b) Phasing out the installation of fossil fuel heating systems in businesses and public buildings off the gas grid, published on 19 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Government published impact assessments alongside those consultations on the 19 October 2022. The Government will respond to those consultations and set out further details on its plans to decarbonise off grid properties in due course.

Batteries: Lithium

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has taken recent steps to help (a) reduce the insurance premium for lithium-ion battery energy storage systems and (b) encourage development of fast and reliable methods of fire prevention in battery energy storage systems.

Graham Stuart: Lithium-ion batteries must comply with the relevant product safety legislation. OPSS is carrying out a programme of activities to understand better the specific safety risks these products present. Users are encouraged to follow available guidance, including from Electrical Safety First and the London Fire Brigade, and the manufacturer’s instructions on safe use, including safe charging. Insurance premiums are a matter for industry. The Government is also working with the industry-led Storage Health and Safety Governance Group to support the development of a product and installation standard (known as a “Publicly Available Standard”) for domestic/small-scale battery storage and developing guidance for grid-scale storage.

Alternative Fuel Payments

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with regards to the £200 Alternative Fuel Payment, when will it be administered.

Graham Stuart: The vast majority of Alternative Fuel Payments eligible households in Great Britain will receive payment automatically via their electricity supplier with no need to take any action. There will be a small number of customers who are unable to receive the funding automatically, for instance households without a direct relationship with an electricity supplier, and the Government will ensure there is a route for those households to apply for and receive the £200 support. This support will be delivered in Great Britain as soon as possible after 1st February. The Government has decided to pay the Alternative Fuel Payment to all households in Northern Ireland. This will make sure households in Northern Ireland receive their Alternative Fuel Payment this winter. Suppliers will be able to begin payments in Northern Ireland from the beginning of January.

Alternative Fuel Payments

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the £200 Alternative Fuel Payment, when his Department will issue guidance to energy companies on administering the payment.

Graham Stuart: The Alternative Fuel Payment of £200 will provide support for those in properties using fuels such as heating oil, liquified petroleum gas, coal or biomass for heating. Officials are working very closely with energy companies on its implementation, which will include issuing formal written guidance to them very soon.

Palliative Care: Power Failures

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to ensure that children’s hospice and palliative services, including those provided by the voluntary sector, are on the Protected Sites List as part of the Electricity Emergency Supply Code.

Graham Stuart: Children’s hospice and palliative services are not listed as ‘Approved Designated Services’ as set out in section 5.2 of the Electricity Supply Emergency Code, and therefore do not qualify for Protected Site status unless they are located within a hospital. The restrictive Protected Site criteria is essential as there are technical requirements under the Electricity Supply Emergency Code that limit the Protected Sites List to 10% of total demand. To keep many children’s hospice and palliative services connected would involve keeping all other properties in the area also connected and therefore the majority do not meet the criteria. Sites are ultimately responsible for their own business continuity and should not rely on being on the Protected Sites List as their power resilience. The Electricity Supply Emergency Code only applies to certain scenarios and does not give sites complete coverage for all possible power disruption events.

Housing: Newcastle upon Tyne Central

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many homes in Newcastle Central constituency had heat pumps installed as of 1 December 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database shows that, as of 1 December 2022, 84 heat pump installations were registered in the Newcastle Central constituency. The database does not include all heat pump installations, for example, those installed without Government funding support, such as in new buildings, which are not typically recorded in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database.

Housing: Newcastle upon Tyne Central

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many homes in Newcastle Central constituency with cavity walls have been insulated as of 1 December 2022.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many homes in Newcastle Central constituency with lofts had loft insulation installed as of 1 December 2022.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many homes in Newcastle Central constituency had under floor insulation installed as of 1 December 2022.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on how many homes in Newcastle Central constituency had external wall insulation installed as of 1 December 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO)and Green Homes Grant (GHG)government schemes, around 2,000 cavity wall insulation measures, 1,300 loft insulation measures, 700 under floor insulation measures and 46 external wall insulation measures have been installed in Newcastle Central constituency. Data for ECO covers January 2013 to September 2022. Data for the GHG schemes cover October 2020 to September 2022.

Housing: Energy

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the rate of energy efficiency measure installations in homes in Newcastle Central constituency.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to improving the energy performance of homes across the country, including in Newcastle Central. The Government is already investing £6.6 billion over this parliament on decarbonising heat and energy efficiency measures. An additional £6 billion of new Government funding, announced in the Autumn Statement, will be made available from 2025 to 2028. This provides long-term funding certainty, supporting the growth of supply chains, and ensuring the Government can scale up its delivery over time.

Housing: Leeds North West

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of how many homes in Leeds North West constituency have had heat pumps installed as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database shows that, as of 31 October 2022, 266 heat pump installations were registered in the Leeds North West constituency. The database does not include all heat pump installations, for example, those installed without Government funding support, such as in new buildings, which are not typically recorded in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database.

Housing: Leeds North West

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of how many homes in Leeds North West constituency with cavity walls have been insulated as of 31 October 2022.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of how many homes in Leeds North West constituency with lofts had loft insulation installed as of 31 October 2022.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of how many homes in Leeds North West constituency had under floor insulation installed as of 31 October 2022.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of how many homes in Leeds North West constituency had external wall insulation installed as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO)and Green Homes Grant (GHG) government schemes, around 1,100 cavity wall insulation measures, 1,200 loft insulation measures, 200 under floor insulation measures and 500 external wall insulation measures have been installed in Leeds North West constituency. Data for ECO covers January 2013 to September 2022. Data for the GHG schemes cover October 2020 to September 2022.

Housing: Energy

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase the rate of energy efficiency measure installations in homes in Leeds North West constituency.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to improving the energy performance of homes across the country, including in Leeds North West. The Government is already investing £6.6 billion over this parliament on decarbonising heat and energy efficiency measures. The additional £6 billion of new Government funding, announced in the Autumn Statement, will be made available from 2025 to 2028. This provides long-term funding certainty, supporting the growth of supply chains, and ensuring the Government can scale up its delivery over time.

Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund: Leeds North West

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, If he will make an estimate of the number of homes that have been retrofitted through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund in Leeds North West constituency since the introduction of that fund.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to investing £6.6bn in energy efficiency, with the Autumn Statement announcing an additional £6bn from 2025-2028. The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave 1 awarded around £179m of grant funding, delivering from 2022 into 2023, of which £9.5m was awarded to Leeds City Council to retrofit 630 homes. SHDF Demonstrator has retrofitted 190 homes through Leeds City Council. The SHDF Wave 2.1 competition, which closed on 18th November 2022, will allocate up to £800m of grant funding, with successful projects likely to be notified in March 2023.

Housing: Leeds North West

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in which wards in Leeds North West constituency has external wall insulation been fitted to residential property.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which wards in Leeds North West constituency have the highest number of homes with retrofitting measures installed.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO)and Green Homes Grant (GHG) government schemes, external wall insulation measures have been installed in some households in all wards in Leeds North West constituency. The ward in Leeds North West constituency with the highest number of government funded retrofitting measures installed is Weetwood. These measures have been funded through the following government schemes: ECO, GHG schemes, Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS). The order from highest to lowest is as follows:1.Weetwood2.Headingley & Hyde Park3.Otley & Yeadon4.Adel & Wharfedale

Energy Company Obligation: Warwick and Leamington

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes have had ECO scheme measures installed in Warwick and Leamington constituency as of 24 November 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS publishes information on the number of households in receipt of ECO measures by Parliamentary Constituency in Table 4.5 accompanying the latest Household Energy Efficiency Statistics release. It is estimated that 2,526 households have had ECO measures installed in Warwick and Leamington constituency up to end September 2022.

Warm Home Discount Scheme: Washington and Sunderland West

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people have received the Warm Homes Discount in Warwick and Leamington constituency as of 8 December 2022.

Graham Stuart: Energy suppliers are responsible for providing rebates to eligible households and are only required to report on the number of rebates provided in England, Scotland and Wales. The Government does not hold data on the number of rebate recipients by constituency.

Green Deal Scheme: Warwick and Leamington

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many projects have been completed in Warwick and Leamington constituency through the Green Deal as of 24 November 2022.

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Green Deal projects are classified as live in Warwick and Leamington constituency.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that in Warwick and Leamington constituency, 11 Green Deal projects are live, meaning all measures have been installed, and between one and five projects have been completed, meaning all measures have been installed and paid off. To manage the risk of revealing personal or commercial data, our approach is not to release non-zero counts of less than five for a small geographic area. Data covers the period from May 2013 to October 2022.

Energy: Meters

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households with children under the age of (a) one and (b) five have been placed on pre-payment meters in each of the last five years.

Graham Stuart: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not collect data on the number of households with children on pre-payment meters. Ofgem, the independent regulator, does not collect data at this level. Ofgem License Conditions restrict the installation of pre-payment meters for debt, specifying that a pre-payment meter has to be safe and practical. Under Ofgem guidance safety considerations include having a child under the age of five.

Job Creation: Ellesmere Port and Neston

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the number of green jobs in Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency.

Graham Stuart: The Net Zero Strategy sets out its plans to work with industry to create the skilled workforce needed to transition to a green economy and the Government have established the Green Jobs Delivery Group to drive this forward. The Group will support the delivery of up to 480,000 skilled green jobs by 2030. Ellesmere Port is located within Hynet, one of two industrial clusters identified on the first track for the Government's Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) cluster sequencing programme. The Government estimates the carbon capture industry could support up to 50,000 jobs in the UK in 2030.

Energy Company Obligation

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will estimate the average energy cost savings expected per year as a result of energy efficiency measures installed in the average home under the ECO scheme.

Graham Stuart: For those households treated under ECO4, the policy could deliver an average gross saving on their annual dual fuel bill of around £290 over the lifetime of the measures, most of which will last for several decades. In the short term, savings will be around £600. Additionally, for those treated under ECO+, annual bills will be cut by an average of £310 per home (based on energy prices consistent with the Energy Price Guarantee from April 2023.

Post Offices: Energy

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of providing further support for (a) postmasters and (b) sub-postmasters with energy costs after 31 March 2023.

Graham Stuart: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular conversations with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.

Post Offices: Energy

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of rising energy costs on (a) postmasters and (b) sub-postmasters.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) provides a price reduction to ensure that all eligible businesses and other non-domestic customers. The price reduction will run initially for 6 months covering energy use from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2023. Non-domestic customers such as postmasters and sub-postmasters do not need to take action or apply to the scheme – support will automatically be applied to eligible bills. An HM Treasury-led review of the EBRS will determine support for non-domestic energy consumers, excluding public sector organisations, beyond 31 March 2023. The Government has published terms of reference for the review, with the findings to be published by 31 December 2022.

Housing: Wirral South

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of houses that have had heat pumps installed in Wirral South constituency as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: The Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database shows that as of 31 October 2022, forty heat pump installations were registered in the Wirral South constituency. The database does not include all heat pump installations, for example, those installed without Government funding support, such as in new buildings, which are not typically recorded in the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Installations Database.

Environment Protection: Job Creation

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the number of green jobs in Feltham and Heston constituency.

Graham Stuart: The Government’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution incorporates £12 Billion and sets out our plans to work with industry to create the skilled workforce needed to transition to a green economy. The Green Jobs Delivery Group has already supported 68,000 jobs nationally within the green economy. This forms part of around 430,000 jobs in low carbon businesses and their supply chains across the country generating an estimated turnover of £41.2 billion. Feltham and Heston also benefit from several streams of growth funding awarded to London, including £144m through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund announced on Monday 5 December 2022, a central pillar of the Government’s ambitious Levelling Up agenda.

Housing: Wirral South

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Wirral South have had solar power panels installed as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: At the end of October 2022, there were 698 domestic installations of solar panels recorded in Wirral South constituency.

Housing: Wirral South

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of houses with cavity walls that have been insulated in Wirral South constituency as of 31 October 2022.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of houses with lofts that had loft insulation installed in Wirral South constituency as of 31 October 2022.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the number of houses that have had under floor insulation installed in Wirral South constituency as of 31 October 2022.

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in Wirral South have had external wall insulation installed as of 31 October 2022.

Graham Stuart: BEIS estimates that under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO)and Green Homes Grant (GHG) government schemes, around 500 cavity wall insulation measures, 400 loft insulation measures, 300 under floor insulation measures and 200 external wall insulation measures have been installed in Wirral South constituency. Data for ECO covers January 2013 to September 2022. Data for the GHG schemes cover October 2020 to September 2022.

District Heating: Price Caps

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has plans to reform the Default Tariff Act to extend Ofgem's regulatory powers to ensure that price caps apply to commercial contracts bought by communal heating systems.

Graham Stuart: There are currently no plans to reform the existing Default Tariff Act for heat networks. The Government has included powers within the Energy Bill, introduced to Parliament in July this year, which would enable price caps to be set in the heat networks sector. However, the Government has said it will proceed cautiously in setting price caps to avoid undermining investment in the sector and putting at risk the supply of heat to customers.

Energy Bill Relief Scheme: Lancaster and Fleetwood

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps is his Department taking to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises are receiving the correct level of support from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme in Lancaster and Fleetwood constituency.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Bill Relief Scheme is set out clearly in legislation and will be applied in a uniform way by all licensed suppliers. The regulations include a robust compliance and enforcement regime to ensure requirements are being met. Suppliers are also required to inform customers about the details of support, including the amount of the discount and discounted supply price.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Productivity

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 3.21 of the National Audit Office report entitled Managing NHS backlogs and waiting times in England, published on 17 November 2022, if he will place in the library a copy of NHS England’s April 2022 internal review of NHS productivity.

Will Quince: We are unable to provide the information requested as it could prejudice the conduct of public affairs.

Members: Correspondence

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston of 3 May 2022 with reference PO-1386868.

Helen Whately: I replied to the hon. Member on 21 December 2022.

General Practitioners

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many GPs there were in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last ten years; and how many GP vacancies there were in those areas in the same period.

Neil O'Brien: The information for Coventry and the West Midlands is not held in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) general practitioners in the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and the Midlands in each year since September 2015 and in England since September 2012. Data prior to 2015 for Coventry and Warwickshire ICB and the Midlands is not held.DateCoventry and Warwickshire ICBMidlandsEnglandSeptember 20227057,23837,026September 20216577,17936,495September 20206366,90135,393September 20196126,71534,729September 20186186,68734,369September 20175365,92734,637September 20165446,11535,206September 20155656,24034,392September 2014N/AN/A36,920September 2013N/AN/A36,294September 2012N/AN/A35,871 Notes:The data does not correspond directly to constituency boundaries, hence data for the nearest ICB is given instead.Data from September 2012 to September 2014 are not directly comparable with the data from September 2015 onwards. This is because a new methodology for collecting the workforce data was introduced in 2015, using the Primary Care Workforce Minimum Data Set.Data from September 2015 onwards contains estimates for practices which did not provide fully valid staff records.FTE refers to the proportion of full time contracted hours that the post holder is contracted to work. ‘1’ would indicate they work a full set of hours (37.5), 0.5 that they worked half time.Figures shown do not include staff working in prisons, army bases, educational establishments, specialist care centres including drug rehabilitation centres, walk-in centres and other alternative settings outside of traditional general practice such as urgent treatment centres and minor injury units.Figures from September 2015 and September 2016 should be treated with caution as the data submission rates from practices were appreciably lower than for subsequent reporting periods. This means that the reported figures for these periods may be lower than the true picture.In September 2015, which was the first extract from the new Workforce Minimum Data Set, only three of four Health Education England regions submitted data. Consequently, September 2015 figures should be treated with additional caution. The data for the number of vacancies is not held.

NHS: Labour Turnover

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of impact of a pay settlement on NHS staff retention.

Will Quince: The independent Pay Review Body process is the established mechanism for determining pay increases in the public sector, including for National Health Service staff. In forming its recommendations, the Pay Review Bodies consider a range of evidence, including the cost of living, inflation, recruitment, retention, morale and value for the taxpayer.The 2020 NHS People Plan sets out actions to improve staff retention and all NHS trusts have specific retention programmes, including focusing on career development and training pathways to retain staff.

NHS: Drugs

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of vacancies there are for (a) nurses and (b) pharmacists in homecare medicines services as of 1 December 2022; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the number of vacancies on (i) the performance of homecare medicines services and (ii) patient safety.

Will Quince: In England there are 12 providers of homecare medicines and services. NHS England (NHSE) have advised they do not collect data on the number of vacancies for nurses and pharmacists in homecare medicines services.Homecare providers are assessed on a monthly basis against their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at a national level for NHSE framework agreements and at a regional level for NHS regional contracting and more formally on a regular basis through face-to-face meetings with the National Homecare Medicines Committee and NHSE. The level of vacancies do not form part of this quality assurance and governance process, so estimates cannot reasonably be made. The quality assurance and governance process covers the monitoring of patients’ adverse events, complaints and incidents. Providers not meeting their KPIs in these areas are held to account and action is taken to ensure that levels of service are brought back in line with the relevant professional standards, these resolutions impact directly on service performance and patient safety.

Penicillin

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what stocks of (a) amoxicillin and (b) penicillin were held as of 1 December 2022.

Will Quince: Amoxicillin is available in a range of formulations including capsules and oral suspension. Phenoxymethylpenicillin is available as oral suspension in two strengths and also as tablets. There has been a particularly sharp increase in demand recently which means some pharmacies are having difficulties obtaining some medicines.We are taking decisive action to address temporary supply issues with some antibiotics that can be used to treat Strep A and to improve access to these medicines by continuing to work with manufacturers and wholesalers to speed up deliveries, bring forward stock they have to help ensure it gets to where it is needed and to boost supply to meet demand as quickly as possible.Further, Serious Shortage Protocols have been issued across the United Kingdom for penicillin medicines, which will help mitigate local supply issues and allow pharmacists to supply alternative forms of the medicine, or alternative antibiotics, if they don’t have the specific product stated on the prescription.

Streptococcus: Drugs

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any of the medicines used to treat symptoms of Strep A are stocked in the essential medicines buffer stock; and what plans he has to release medicines from that stock to support the treatment of Strep A.

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department last assessed the essential medicines buffer stock to ensure it has the (a) appropriate products and (b) adequate volume of those products.

Will Quince: The Essential Medicines Buffer Stock (EMBS) programme formally ended in 2019/2020. A small number of products were, however, retained in the EMBS to March 2022 as part of the COVID-19 Supportive Medicines stockpile. There are no plans to reinstate the EMBS.We are taking decisive action to address temporary supply issues with some antibiotics that can be used to treat Strep A and to improve access to these medicines by continuing to work with manufacturers and wholesalers to speed up deliveries, bring forward stock they have to help ensure it gets to where it is needed and to boost supply to meet demand as quickly as possible.Further, Serious Shortage Protocols have been issued across the United Kingdom for penicillin medicines, which will help mitigate local supply issues and allow pharmacists to supply alternative forms of the medicine, or alternative antibiotics, if they don’t have the specific product stated on the prescription.

Patient Choice Schemes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure freedom of choice of GP for patients.

Neil O'Brien: Patients can apply to register with the general practitioner (GP) practice of their choice. All practices are required to assign to registered patients a named, accountable GP to ensure that any necessary services the practice is contracted to provide are coordinated and delivered for patients. Practices must make reasonable efforts to accommodate patients’ requests to be assigned a specific accountable GP and endeavour to comply with all reasonable requests to see a particular practitioner. However, patients may have the choice between a named GP or increased speed of access. The right to choose a GP practice and to express a preference for a particular doctor within that practice are reflected in the NHS Constitution.We have also committed to publish practice-level appointment data, which will improve transparency on the performance of a GP practice and allow patients to make informed choices when registering.

Mental Health Services: Females

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Better Health - Every Mind Matters campaign and page 88 of the Women’s Health Strategy, what progress his Department has made on developing tailored content for that initiative on issues which affect women’s mental health since the publication of the women’s health strategy.

Maria Caulfield: The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has produced classroom resources to support the teaching of mental health topics included in the Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum, including issues which particularly affect girls. OHID has also developed new video content to promote body neutrality which will be distributed via social media channels in 2023. OHID is also developing new content for the Better Health-Every Mind Matters platform, including information on managing menopause-related mental health problems, which we anticipate will be launched in 2023.

Bowel Cancer: Diets

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with the Royal College of Physicians on the impact of a diet rich in (a) vegetables, (b) whole grains, (c) beans and (d) lentils on the risk of bowel cancer.

Neil O'Brien: There have been no recent discussions. The Eatwell Guide advises the population to consume a diet which is based on fruits, vegetables and starchy carbohydrates, including wholegrain options where possible.

NHS: Pay

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative estimate of (a) the cost to the NHS of planned industrial action and (b) the cost of granting the pay increase demanded by NHS staff.

Will Quince: There is not sufficient evidence to estimate the likely cost to the National Health Service of planned industrial action and so no comparison can be made.The Royal College of Nursing is asking for a pay rise of 5% above RPI inflation. Using November’s RPI inflation data, this would equate to a pay rise of 19.0%. Uplifting pay for all those on the same Agenda for Change contract as nurses, including other non-medical staff such as porters, paramedics, physiotherapists and cleaners, by 19% would cost £9.8 billion over and above the 2022-23 pay award recommended by the independent pay review body, and accepted in full by the Government.Unite, Unison, GMB, whose membership bases include large numbers of paramedics and ambulance staff, and other unions have asked for a pay rise above inflation. Uplifting pay for all those on the Agenda for Change contract by either CPI or RPI inflation (10.7% and 14.0% respectively in 12 months to November), would cost approximately £4.1 billion and £6.4 billion more respectively than the 2022-23 pay award.

Cancer: Screening

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken following the publication of the Women’s Health Strategy on the digital transformation of screening programmes as referenced in page 93 of the Women’s Health Strategy.

Helen Whately: NHS England has launched the Digital Transformation of Screening Programme in response to the recommendations of Professor Sir Mike Richards’ review of adult screening. A new cervical screening IT system is being prioritised and NHS England is developing a new Cervical Screening Management System (CSMS) to replace the existing call and recall system. The CSMS has been designed to support future programme changes, such as new ways of screening through self-sampling or other recommendations made by the UK National Screening Committee.

Brain Cancer: Radiotherapy

Bambos Charalambous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when proton beam therapy will be available in the UK to medulloblastoma patients over 25.

Helen Whately: NHS England Clinical Commissioning Policy Statement covers proton beam therapy for adult medulloblastoma for craniospinal irradiation. Implementation of the therapy service at the University College London Hospital proton centre is at a stage where there is capacity within the national service for this complex treatment. The use of protons will be determined in line with the assessment of clinical risk and benefit.

NHS: Pay Settlements

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with the NHS Pay Review Body on the NHS Pay Review Body remit letter: 2023 to 2024 pay round, published on 16 November 2022.

Will Quince: Since sending the remit letter, the Secretary of State has not met with the NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB). As is the practice of successive administrations, the details of external meetings are routinely published on Gov.UK.The NHSPRB are independent advisory bodies made up of industry experts. The review bodies carefully consider evidence submitted to them from a range of stakeholders, including government, NHS system partners, and trade unions.

Royal College of Nursing and UNISON

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings he has planned with the heads of (a) the Royal College of Nursing and (b) Unison in the next month.

Will Quince: Details of meetings held by ministers and the Secretary of State in the Department are published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings#2022A full list of ministerial meetings from October to December 2022 will be published at the same link in due course.

NHS: Pay

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he will next meet with health unions to discuss NHS pay.

Will Quince: Details of meetings held by ministers and the Secretary of State in the Department are published on GOV.UK at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings#2022A full list of ministerial meetings from October to December 2022 will be published at the same link in due course.

Diabetes: Kingston upon Hull North

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were diagnosed with diabetes in Kingston upon Hull North constituency in each of the last five years.

Helen Whately: The following table shows the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in Kingston upon Hull North constituency in each calendar year from 2016 to 2020, by diabetes type. Type 1Type 2 and other201610410201715315201815390201915345202020355 Source: National Diabetes Audit (NDA)Notes:A person may have more than one diabetes diagnosis within the NDA. In this case, an algorithm is used to derive the best diagnosis date and diabetes type for each person.Disclosure control has been applied to all figures, as per the NDA publication – all numbers are rounded to the nearest 5, unless the number is 1 to 7, in which case it is rounded to ‘5’.Diabetes type is reported as ‘type 1’ and ‘type 2 and other’ within the NDA. ‘Type 1’ includes where a person is recorded as having type 1 diabetes in the NDA. ‘Type 2 and other’ includes where a person is recorded as having type 2 diabetes, Maturity-onset Diabetes of the Young. other or non-specified diabetes in the NDA.

NHS: Protective Clothing

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an estimate of the (a) daily, (b) weekly and (c) monthly costs of storing PPE in (i) warehouses and (ii) storage units.

Will Quince: Between April and October 2022, the total average monthly cost of storing personal protective equipment was £22.4 million. The average monthly cost for storage in China was £2.6 million, for United Kingdom (UK) warehousing was £11.3 million, for other storage in the UK it was £8.5 million. Other storage is comprised of storage in containers and supplier storage which can be in containers or warehouses.

Dentistry: Training

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of dental professionals trained in the UK.

Neil O'Brien: Health Education England (HEE) undertook a three-year review of education and training through its Advancing Dental Care Review. This is now being implemented through HEEs four-year Dental Education Reform Programme to improve recruitment and retention of dental care professionals in the United Kingdom.The Government has committed to publishing a workforce plan next year, which will include independently verified forecasts for the number of healthcare professionals required in future years, taking account of improvements in retention and productivity. This will include dental care professionals.

NHS Low Income Scheme

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to hold a review of the eligibility to the NHS Low Income Scheme.

Neil O'Brien: There are no plans to do so. Approximately 89% of prescription items in England are currently dispensed provided free of charge. For those not exempt from charges, pre-payment certificates can be used to limit costs at £2 a week for regular prescriptions.

Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has held recent discussions with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on changing the discount rate; what his planned timetable is for this work; and whether it will be subject to formal public consultation.

Will Quince: There have been no recent discussions. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) concluded a review of its methods and processes for health technology evaluation, including consideration of the discount rate and published its updated manual on 31 January 2022. NICE’s final consultation on proposed changes closed on 13 October 2021. NICE concluded that while there was some evidence to support a change to the reference case discount rate, it was appropriate to maintain the existing rate of 3.5% due to policy and fiscal implications and interdependencies beyond the scope of the review.

Royal College of Nursing

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings were held between Ministers in his department and the Royal College of Nursing between June 2022 and November 2022; and on which dates were they held.

Will Quince: Ministerial meetings are published on GOV.UK at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings#2022A full list of ministerial meetings from October to December 2022 will be published at the same link in due course.

Ritalin

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the supply of Ritalin.

Will Quince: The Department is aware of a supply issue with a branded version of Ritalin, methylphenidate 10 milligram tablets. We continue to liaise with all suppliers to expedite resupply dates to ensure stock remains available to meet demand.

Ambulance Services: Strikes

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that all category (a) one and (b) two emergency calls are responded to during the ambulance strikes.

Will Quince: We expect that discussions on local derogations for ambulance provision will take place in advance of the planned strike action. NHS England has explored a range of measures to maintain ambulance services during industrial action. As a contingency, a Military Aid to Civilian Authorities request for a limited number of personnel has been submitted to the Ministry of Defence.

NHS: Drugs and Medical Equipment

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has issued any serious shortage protocols for any products in the last month.

Will Quince: The Department has issued three Serious Shortage Protocols (SSP) in the last month. These were for Estraderm MX 50 microgram patches and Estraderm MX 75 microgram patches which were issued on 15 November. The SSP for Estraderm MX 50 microgram patches was withdrawn on 23 November. A further SSP was issued for Atorvastatin (Lipitor) 20 milligram chewable tablets on 23 November.

Department of Health and Social Care: Brexit

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK's departure from the EU on their ability to deliver successful policy outcomes.

Will Quince: We are using the provisions of the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 to overhaul medical devices and clinical trial frameworks to ensure more rapid access to new and innovative medicines and medical devices. In addition, we are establishing new reciprocal healthcare arrangements with non-European Union countries and expanding the use of Global Health Insurance Cards.

Department of Health and Social Care: Energy

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which energy provider supplies energy to their Department; how much carbon dioxide was emitted by their Department in the latest period for which figures are available; whether the criteria their Department uses to select an energy supplier include how environmentally friendly that supplier is; and what recent steps their Department has taken to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its energy use.

Will Quince: The Department’s energy contracts are negotiated by the Crown Commercial Service and electricity is currently supplied by EDF and gas by Total Energies Gas and Power. In 2021/22, the Department emitted 3,107 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from energy use in its buildings and staff business travel. The Department has recently completed a sustainability strategy and is undertaking surveys of the estate to understand net zero emissions can be achieved.

Department for Education

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the findings in the Education Endowment Foundations report on the socio-economic attainment gap; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department welcomes the Education Endowment Foundation’s report and the contributions it has made to the Department’s understanding of key issues around pupil wellbeing and attainment following the COVID-19 pandemic.Extended restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic meant that many children and young people missed out on large amounts of face to face education.Helping children recover from the consequences of the pandemic is a key priority. The Department has made almost £5 billion available for a comprehensive recovery package to support children and young people to make up for education lost during the pandemic.The Department is providing a package of training, qualifications, expert guidance, and targeted support for the early years sector to support child development and recovery from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the youngest and most disadvantaged children.The Department has funded the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), which improves the language skills of Reception age children following the pandemic. The programme targets children needing extra support with their speech and language development, and is proven to help them make around three months of additional progress.In February 2021, the Department announced a £22 million Accelerator Fund, which aims to scale up and spread effective literacy and numeracy programmes to ensure pupils have the best chance of catching up following the pandemic. The Department announced a £66 million extension to the fund for another 3 years. This will continue to develop and scale up the best-evidenced literacy and numeracy interventions.In addition, the Department’s ongoing investment in English and mathematics curriculum hub programmes will support children to benefit from high quality teaching in early reading and maths respectively, including through phonics and Teaching for Mastery interventions.This year, schools funding is £4 billion higher than last year and it will rise by another £3.5 billion, on top of that, next year. This is an increase of over 15% in two years. These increases will enable head teachers to continue to concentrate funding in the areas that positively impact educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the children who need it most, including those who are disadvantaged.Schools continue to receive the pupil premium, worth over £2.6 billion this 2022/23 financial year, to enable them to provide extra support and improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

Teachers: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made on the impact of (a) Early Career Framework and (b) Core Content Framework on teacher recruitment and retention targets.

Nick Gibb: Initial Teacher Training (ITT) recruitment targets are calculated using analysis from the Teacher Workforce Model (TWM). The TWM uses different sources to calculate these targets, including data regarding the composition of the teacher workforce and curriculum taught in secondary schools, returner and leaver rates, historic recruitment performance, and the latest data and assumptions on future recruitment and retention of teachers. The TWM considers the cumulative effect of these factors, and they can act to increase or decrease recruitment targets compared to an earlier year.Since September 2020, all new teachers benefit from at least three years of evidence based professional development and support, starting with ITT based on the Core Content Framework (CCF), and followed by a new two year induction underpinned by the Early Career Framework (ECF). These reforms help teachers and school leaders in every phase and subject to feel more confident and in control of their careers.The ITT CCF does not directly relate to recruitment targets and the TWM. It sets out at the point of course development a minimum entitlement of knowledge, skills, and experiences that trainees need to enter the profession to teach and support children and young people.Early Career Framework (ECF) reforms were rolled out nationally in September 2021, entitling all early career teachers (ECTs) in England to access high quality professional development at the start of their career.The ECF reforms increased the statutory induction period from one academic year to two academic years and were designed to help teachers feel more confident at the start of their career.ECF reforms ensure consistent professional development and support for ECTs. It is an evidence based approach designed to ensure ECTs focus on the things that make the most difference in the classroom and in their professional practice.The Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the national roll out of the ECF induction. This investigates participants’ views on the programme and their perceived impact on retention. Findings from the first year of ECF delivery will be published in due course and will report on ECTs’ intentions to stay in teaching.In summer 2023, the Department will publish the annual school workforce census statistics, which will show how the proportion of ECTs retained after one year has changed since the national rollout of ECF. In summer 2024, these statistics will show how many ECTs were retained following completion of their induction.

Children: Social Services

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish its responses to the (a) SEND review: right support, right place, right time, published 29 Mar 2022 and (b) and the The independent review of children’s social care: final report published in 23 May 2022.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to publish a summary of the responses received to the consultation entitled SEND review: right support, right place, right time.

Claire Coutinho: In early 2023, the department will publish an Improvement Plan which will outline our response to the public consultation on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper entitled SEND Review: right support, right place, right time, and set out the steps the department will take to improve the system.The department will also publish an ambitious and detailed implementation strategy in response to the Independent Review for Children’s Social Care, the Independent National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s reviews into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson, and the Competition Markets Authority report into children’s social care placements in early 2023.

Initial Teacher Training Market Review

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has held recent discussions with (a) the Russell Group and (b) Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers on taking steps to develop partnerships between recently accredited providers and unsuccessful applications to the initial teacher training market review.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) stakeholders on the impact of the initial teacher training market review on provider capacity across all regions in England.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2022 to Question 105587 on teacher training, what recent discussions she has had with representatives from (a) the Russell Group of universities and (b) Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers on the impact of the outcome of provider appeals on meeting teacher recruitment targets.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2022 to Question 59990 on teacher training, whether there are any conditions on which she would open a further round of accreditation to initial teacher training providers.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the value for money to the public purse of the Initial Teacher Training Market Review.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the value of the Initial Teacher Training Market Review to meeting teacher recruitment targets.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to conduct a review with representatives of (a) the Russell Group of universities, (b) Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers and (c) other stakeholders on the teacher recruitment and retention strategy.

Nick Gibb: The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) reforms are a significant step in the delivery of the Department’s programme to create a world class teacher development system and transform the support teachers receive at every stage of their career. 179 providers have been accredited to deliver ITT from September 2024, following a rigorous accreditation process designed to drive up the quality and consistency of ITT leading to Qualified Teacher Status. These providers cover all regions of the country and include new entrants to the market.Safeguarding teacher supply is a key priority. The Department will continually monitor provision levels to ensure that there are sufficient ITT places to meet teacher recruitment targets. The reforms aim to ensure every trainee experiences high quality and coherent ITT programmes.The accreditation process concluded in September 2022 and was followed by an appeals process, which concluded in December 2022. The Department does not intend to run any further accreditation rounds before the first delivery of reformed ITT in September 2024.The Department expects the next round of accreditation to take place during the 2025/26 academic year, after the reforms have embedded into the system. The Department will continue to work with the high quality providers who have been accredited to ensure that sufficient training places are available in any areas of concern.The Department is working with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure sufficient ITT places across the country from the 2024/25 academic year. The Department is focusing on utilising local knowledge and relationships as well as prioritising a sector led approach to sufficiency. This includes working with a range of sector stakeholders to ensure a wide range of views are represented, including those of Universities Council for The Education of Teachers, The National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers, and different Higher Education Institutions representative groups.The Department is actively encouraging partnership and expansions in areas which may have fewer providers following the accreditation process. Some providers have indicated that positive discussions are underway. To support these partnership conversations, the Department published guidance on 12 December and confirmed that funding will be available to support with the costs of developing partnerships in key regions. The guidance can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1123075/Initial_teacher_training__ITT__-_forming_partnerships.pdf.The Department is clear that implementing these changes now, will give all trainees across the country access to the highest quality ITT provision. A value for money assessment of the ITT Market Review was completed and published in 2022 as part of the accounting officer assessment for the ITT Reform programme. This concluded that the programme represented good value for money for the Exchequer.Officials regularly meet with sector bodies and stakeholders that fulfil important roles and have an interest in teacher training and the recruitment and retention of teachers.This engagement includes regular meetings with Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers and representative bodies such as the Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) and the National School Based-Teacher Trainers (NASBTT).In our Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy (2019), the Department committed to reviewing the ITT market to support it to work more efficiently and effectively. Throughout the ITT Market Review, officials engaged with UCET, NASBTT and other representatives of teacher training providers including meeting with Russell Group universities involved in teacher training.The Department is also focusing on utilising local knowledge and relationships as well as prioritising a sector-led approach to sufficiency, working closely with experts including UCET, NASBTT and Teaching School Hubs Council. The Department will continue to work with sector stakeholders to help support targeted provider expansion and partnerships.

School Rebuilding Programme: Bournemouth East

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the School Rebuilding Programme will include funding to any educational institutions in Bournemouth East constituency.

Nick Gibb: On 16 December 2022, the Department announced the next round of 239 schools to be included in the School Rebuilding Programme, prioritised on the basis of their condition. A list of these schools is available in the attached table.Of the 400 schools selected so far, none are in Bournemouth East constituency. There are six schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Local Authorities.School Rebuilding Programme schools (xlsx, 56.1KB)

Department for Education: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s publication of electronic purchasing card spending over £500 for January and February 2021, for which teams agile training courses were purchased from Tobias Mayer on (a) 19 January 2021 and (b) 2 February 2021; what activities were involved; and how many individuals took part.

Nick Gibb: The agile training courses purchased from Tobias Mayer on (a) 19 January 2021 and (b) 2 February 2021 were both certified Scrum Master workshops. The training was an introduction to the framework and application of Scrum, which is a framework for developing and sustaining complex products and processes. Both events were attended by one member of staff each.

Supply Teachers

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an estimate of the number of lessons in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools that have been taught by supply teachers in England in each academic years since 2015-16.

Nick Gibb: The information requested on the number of lessons in primary and secondary schools that have been taught by supply teachers is not held by the Department. Information on the state funded school workforce in England, including subjects taught in a typical week in secondary schools is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November. This is published in the annual ‘School Workforce in England’ national statistics release, which can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.Information on subjects taught is only collected from a sample of secondary schools, based on hours taught as opposed to lessons, and does not identify whether the teacher was a supply teacher.

Private Education: Admissions

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make a assessment of trends in the demographic profiles of children attending independent schools over the past (a) 5, (b) 10, (c) 15 and (d) 20 years.

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the comparative value for money of investing £1.6 billion in VAT exemptions for independent schools and equivalent spending in the state sector.

Nick Gibb: The Department publishes data about schools, pupils, and their characteristics, including time series where appropriate. This is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics. This includes information held about children at independent schools.The Department has not made any assessment of trends in the demographic profile of children attending independent schools.The Department has not made any assessment of the implications of imposing VAT on independent school fees, either in relation to the amount that would be raised, or the value if spent in the state funded sector.

Ministry of Justice

Bail

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will provide a breakdown of subsequent offences committed by defendants on bail in each of the last 12 years by type of offence.

Damian Hinds: The offences committed by individuals on bail in each of the last 12 years by type of offence can be viewed in the attached table.The decision to remand an individual in custody or to grant bail is solely a matter for the independent judiciary courts acting in accordance with the law. The procedures for considering bail or remand are set out in the Bail Act 1976.An individual may have been charged for multiple offences (on different dates) and therefore the figure for each offence doesn’t necessarily represent a new offender each time.This data covers England and Wales and includes all 43 police forces and the British Transport Police. The number of offences are those committed on all types of bail. The MOJ extract of the Police National Computer does not differentiate between offences committed by defendants on bail while awaiting trial and those committed by offenders on bail after conviction and awaiting sentence.112089_table (xlsx, 216.8KB)

Prisoners: Mental Health Services

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of mental health support for prisoners.

Damian Hinds: In response to the Justice Select Committee’s inquiry on Mental Health in Prisons and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation’s inspection of the Criminal Justice Journey for Individuals with Mental Health Needs and Disorders, health and justice partners set out a wide range of commitments to improve mental health support in prisons, committing to ensuring that people in prison have access to an equivalent standard, range, and quality of health care in prisons to that available in the wider community.Since the inquiries, the Government has published a draft Mental Health Bill, which is now subject to pre-legislative scrutiny. The Bill includes vital reforms to support people with serious mental illnesses in the criminal justice system. This includes speeding up access to specialist in-patient care and treatment by ending the use of prison as a ‘place of safety’ and establishing a new statutory time limit of 28 days for transfers from prison to hospital.HMPPS continue to fund the Samaritans’ Listener Scheme and will be providing the Samaritans with £625k each year until March 2025. Through the scheme, selected prisoners are trained to provide support to fellow prisoners in emotional distress.The Ministry of Justice continues to work with NHS England to improve services in prison to ensure that people have access to timely and effective mental health care that is tailored to their needs. This will be reflected in the new National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England, which is due to be published shortly.

Prisoners: Self-harm

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number and proportion of prisoners who have self-harmed in (a) each of the last 12 months and (b) each year since 2010.

Damian Hinds: We publish the number of self-harming individuals and self-harming individuals per 1,000 prisoners for each year within the Government’s Safety in Custody Statistics: Self-Harm annual tables. The table at 2.1 provides the number of self-harming individuals and self-harming individuals per 1,000 prisoners for number and proportion for each year since 2010.The below table sets out the number of self-harming individuals and self-harming individuals per 1,000 prisoners in each month between July 2021 and June 2022.Number and Rate of Individuals Self-harming by MonthMonthSelf-harming individuals3Self-harm individuals per 1,000 prisoners4Jul-212,04526.1Aug-211,99425.3Sep-212,02025.6Oct-212,04325.7Nov-212,18427.4Dec-212,09826.5Jan-221,94424.5Feb-221,86823.4Mar-221,96024.6Apr-221,86123.4May-221,96524.5Jun-221,94424.1Data Sources and QualityThese figures have been drawn from the HMPPS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing returns but the detail is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Although shown to the last case, the figures may not be accurate to that level.Figures include incidents occurring at youth establishments, HMPPS operated Immigration Removal Centres and during contracted out escorts, but exclude incidents at Medway STC.In prisons, as in the community, it is not possible to count self-harm incidents with absolute accuracy. In prison custody, however, such incidents are more likely to be detected and counted. Care needs to be taken when comparing figures shown here with other sources where data may be less complete.Numbers of individuals should be treated as approximate, as the details of prisoners are not always recorded against each self-harm incident.The monthly rate is based on the number of self-harming individuals in that month and the prison population as at the last day of that month. It is not directly comparable to the annual rate, which is based on the number of self-harming individuals at any point in that year and the average prison population for each month within the year.

Prisons: Safety

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the impact of safer custody teams on (a) mental health support in prisons and (b) the welfare of prisoners.

Damian Hinds: We have a continued commitment to ensure that the safety of staff and prisoners is a priority. Each prison has a safer custody team that takes the lead on implementing safer custody policy and plays a major role in positively promoting the welfare of prisoners, but this is also the responsibility of every member of staff within the prison. Safer custody teams vary between prisons according to the function, population and size of the prison. The teams have responsibilities including analysing data on violence and self-harm, responding to investigations into deaths in custody and implementing or disseminating learning from them, and supervising peer support schemes. They also have oversight of the key systems for managing safety risks, including the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork process for those at risk of self-harm and suicide and the Challenge, Support and Intervention Plan for those at risk of violence.Mental health is a priority for this Government and we recognise that providing the right support and treatment at the right time is vital to improving outcomes for people in the criminal justice system. All prisoners have access to a range of mental health services which are commissioned by NHS England. Together, we are committed to ensuring that people in prison have access to an equivalent standard of health care as is available for people in the community.

Treasury

Further Education: VAT

Karin Smyth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to implement VAT changes for colleges, similar to those implemented for schools and academies.

John Glen: Local Authority (LA) maintained schools are able to reclaim any VAT incurred on the costs of the provision of education through a refund scheme provided under section 33 of the VAT Act 1994. This ensures that the burden of VAT does not fall on local taxation. Academies and free schools are covered by the section 33B VAT refund scheme; this is to ensure that institutions leaving LA control are not at a financial disadvantage due to their change in status. Sixth form colleges and further education colleges are not included in the section 33B refund scheme. Like many other providers of public services, they are expected to cover their VAT costs from their funding allocations. Sixth form colleges have the choice to restructure as academies, enabling the recovery of VAT under the refund scheme, but many choose not to. While the Government keeps all taxes under review, there are no current plans to change these provisions.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 for June 2022, what was the (a) nature and (b) purpose of the services for which Entourage was paid £6,941.43 on 17 June 2022.

David Rutley: Entourage Production were contracted by the British Embassy in Stockholm for the production, planning and staffing of event performances at the 2022 Queen's Birthday Party. Staff considered a number of bids; Entourage Productions was felt to represent the best value for money in terms of lowest cost and the range of services provided. The Queen's Birthday Party was funded by a combination of GREAT UK funding and private sponsorship.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500 in January 2022, for what purpose was (a) £4,735.70 spent at Luna Park Sydney on 18 January 2022, and (b) £699.18 paid to Captain Cook Cruises on 19 January 2022.

David Rutley: The payment to Luna Park was for a reception hosted by the Foreign Secretary and seventy guests, including the Australian Foreign Minister and the Premier of New South Wales. It was not used for admittance into the fairground or to go on any attractions.The payment to Captain Cook Cruise was for ferry transportation to the event at Luna Park for the Foreign Secretary and several New South Wales senior political and business stakeholders to enable them to hold a short bilateral meeting between substantive engagements.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication of government procurement card spending over £500, for what purpose (a) £582.18 was spent at The Clarence, Whitehall on 18 March 2022 and (b) £1,680.02 was spent at Walkers of Whitehall on 16 October 2022; and whether either event included any expenditure on alcoholic beverages.

David Rutley: The Clarence expenditure relates to hosting a delegation of technology experts visiting the UK as part of a programme of work related to Artificial Intelligence and Health. There was no expenditure on alcoholic beverages. The Walkers expenditure relates to hosting 160 technology experts visiting the UK. There was expenditure on alcoholic beverages. Expenditure was subject to normal FCDO controls and an appropriate use of public money. The exchange of gifts and hospitality has long been an important part of building relations and diplomacy.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department’s published data on government procurement card spend over £500 for September 2022, what was purchased from Camel Valley Ltd on 1 and 2 September 2022; and for what purpose were those purchases used.

David Rutley: Camel Valley is an award-winning English wine producer. There is an expectation that UK diplomatic missions procure and serve British wine whenever possible for official entertainment to boost exports, support and promote UK business overseas and project soft power.Incorrect amounts were charged and later refunded. These are not shown in published data. The corrected spend was £4,441.80. Purchasing in bulk accorded a 40% saving, purchasing equivalent quality European wines locally would have cost £17,145.70 more.

Bahrain: Political Prisoners

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2022 to Question 102994, which individual cases were raised during the Foreign Secretary's meetings with (a) the Bahrain Foreign Minister on 19 November 2022 and (b) with HRH the Crown Prince &amp; Prime Minister of Bahrain on 20 November 2022.

David Rutley: I refer the honourable Member to the answer given on 13 December 2022 to Question 102994, the answer can be found on the Q&A web pages on https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2022-12-05/102994

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many individuals that are eligible for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 3 (a) have been informed and (b) are waiting to be informed by his Department of their eligibility.

Leo Docherty: Under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway 3, the FCDO received over 11,400 Expressions of Interest (EOIs) before the window to submit EOIs closed on 15 August 2022. We have informed just under 200 individuals that they are eligible in principle for resettlement, subject to passing security checks. Including their dependents, this accounts for over 750 of the 1500 available places on Pathway 3. We will provide further information on next steps to eligible individuals once security checks have been completed. We are continuing to work at pace to allocate the remaining places and will notify others of the outcome as quickly as we can.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department made an assessment of the (a) availability of internet access in Afghanistan and (b) the security risks to individuals making online applications before introducing an online process for expressions of interest for Pathway Three of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme; and whether alternative routes were made available for people who could not complete an online application.

Leo Docherty: Under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) Pathway 3, the FCDO launched an online system on 20 June where eligible individuals were able to express interest in UK resettlement. To give everyone time to submit an Expression of interest (EOI), the online system was kept open for 8 weeks and closed on 15 August. Details of how to express interest were widely and directly communicated to those in the eligible groups. The online form was translated into Dari and Pashto, and individuals could access the form using a variety of mobile devices, as well as laptops. The form allowed for someone to express interest on behalf of another person, if that person was unable to access the online form directly. The FCDO received over 11,400 EOIs.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what has been the cost to the public purse of processing expressions of interest for Pathway 3 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Leo Docherty: The FCDO remains committed to the resettlement of eligible people in the UK under the first year of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme's Pathway 3. The FCDO's share of this effort under Pathway 3 is under constant review. The FCDO Afghan Resettlement and Relocations Departments have been staffed by approximately 10 - 20 people throughout the year working to deliver Pathway 3, including a dedicated team of caseworkers. Exact staffing costs are not available. In addition to FCDO staffing costs, the Department has spent around £80,000 on IT systems to support the delivery of ACRS Pathway 3.

Pakistan: Floods and Tropical Diseases

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what support he is providing to Pakistan in response to the (a) recent floods and (b) rise of vector-borne diseases including (i) malaria, (ii) dengue fever, (iii) chikungunya and (iv) leishmaniasis.

Leo Docherty: The UK has committed £26.5 million in total to respond to recent flooding. Recognising the impact that the floods are having on vector-borne diseases, UK assistance is targeting sectors that will mitigate and reduce transmission - shelter, water and sanitation, health and nutrition. Emerging health risks in Pakistan are being routinely monitored and the UK will continue to work with the Government of Pakistan and international partners to support Pakistan's recovery.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the pass rate for preparation of military homes for move-in was in each month of 2022.

Alex Chalk: The pass rate for preparation of U.K Service Family Accommodation (SFA), under the FDIS Regional Accommodation Maintenance Service (RAMS) contract which came into service in April 2022, is outlined in the below table: ContractorApr-22May-22Jun-22Jul-22Aug-22Sep-22Oct-22Nov-22Amey (Northern & Central regions)64.76%47.23%41.43%25.35%23.65%30.43%46.63%57.50%Vivo (Southwest & Southeast regions)52.67%39.63%48.85%55.31%57.03%59.18%82.56%84.60% Data for the months prior to the FDIS contract is not held.

F-35 Aircraft: Procurement

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the success of the sixth generation fighter program between the UK, Japan and Italy.

Alex Chalk: Since we launched the Concept and Assessment phase of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme in 2021, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been working with industry partners to define and design the capability we require and invest in the skills and infrastructure needed to deliver it. MOD has already invested over £1 billion in developing the skills and technologies needed to deliver at pace and our Team Tempest industry partners have also invested hundreds of millions more. Industry partners are using transformative technologies and processes such as additive manufacturing and digital design and testing to drastically speed up the development process while enhancing product quality. BAE Systems' Factory of the Future in Lancashire is demonstrating integrated and agile manufacturing capabilities including advanced 3D printing and autonomous robotics.On 9 December 2022 the Prime Minister announced our partnership with Italy and Japan, known as the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), to jointly develop the core aircraft. we will now focus on activities to mature the programme in preparation for the main development phase, scheduled for 2025. Over the next few years, substantial joint work will be undertaken to bring together the UK/Italy’s pre-existing FCAS collaboration and Japan’s FX programme into a single new venture.

Armed Forces: Housing

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times have serving personnel and their dependents been moved into emergency accommodation due to major repair needs at their military accommodation in each year since 2010.

Alex Chalk: Information prior to 2014 is not held. Information between 2014 and 31 March 2022 can only beprovided at disproportionate costSince 1 April 2022, the Department has spent £204,822.70 housing 372 moves for ServicePersonnel and their families to temporary emergency accommodation due to major repair needsat their military accommodationMinistry of Defence's contractor, Pinnacle, administer this process and costs are incurred eitherby the Defence Infrastructure Organisation or Regional Accommodation Maintenance Servicecontractors, Amey and VIVO, where major repairs require Service families to be placed intemporary accommodation.

Ukraine: Guided Weapons

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made on the potential risk of escalation in supplying long-range ballistic weaponry to Ukraine; and what other weaponry and aid is he may provide to Ukraine as an alternative.

James Heappey: While we are mindful of the risk of escalation, we will continue to support Ukraine with an appropriate and balanced mix of military capabilities to assist them in defending their sovereign territory against Russian aggression. The UK will keep our support to Ukraine under review and has not ruled out the possibility of providing longer range weapons systems to counter Russia's recent indiscriminate mass targeting of civilian infrastructure.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Agriculture: Land

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2022 to Question 34984 on Agriculture: Land, whether she is taking steps to reclassify class 3b agricultural land as best and most versatile agricultural land.

Trudy Harrison: Best and Most Versatile Land is defined in the National Planning Policy Framework and Natural England’s guide to assessing development proposals on agricultural land as land in grades 1, 2 and 3a of the Agricultural Land Classification (and therefore not including 3b).

Dogs: Veterinary Services

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Nature Watch's report entitled Canine Fertility Clinics in the UK, published in October 2022, whether her Department plans to respond to that report on the adequacy of the regulation of canine fertility clinics.

Rebecca Pow: Defra has received Naturewatch’s report and officials will meet with representatives from the organisation in the new year.

Home Office

Gender Based Violence

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unique visits have been recorded at the Enough campaign website; and how many and what proportion of these visits were (a) organic and (b) paid for in each month for which records are available since that website's launch.

Miss Sarah Dines: ‘Enough’ is the UK Government's landmark campaign to tackle violence against women and girls. It is one of the key commitments in the government’s Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy and uses a range of communications channels to help deliver a generational shift in attitudes and behaviours. The campaign comprises three strands:Challenging perpetrators – to ensure bystanders know how to challenge abuse when they see it, as well as increasing the unacceptability of VAWG behaviours;Educating young people – to establish healthy attitudes and behaviours around VAWG; andSupporting victims – to ensure they know how and where to access support and, where appropriate, to report their experiences. ‘Enough’ was developed in close consultation with over 40 organisations and academics working on this issue. Results from the first phase of campaign activity demonstrated strong progress towards achieving the campaign’s ambitions. A significant number of campaign recognisers said they took action as a result of seeing the campaign, and the campaign is deepening people’s understanding of what constitutes abuse and how to take action safely if they witness VAWG. The campaign website has driven over 2,000 interactions with support services and assisted people to report abuse to the police. The campaign receives high levels of public and private sector support from police forces, local councils, VAWG sector organisations, and national businesses including Uber, Tesco, Mitchells & Butlers pubs, Fitness First and the English Football League. From the Enough campaign website’s launch on 1 March 2022 to 30 November, analytics indicate there have been over 133,000 sessions on the site. The campaign has had paid marketing activity live in March 2022, October, November and December 2022. In March 2022, 65% of traffic was driven directly from paid activity and 35% was organic. During October (when paid activity was re-launched on 26th) paid activity drove 59% of traffic and organic drove 41%. In November, 67% of traffic was driven directly by paid activity and 33% was organic. December statistics are not yet consolidated. However, these figures only capture the individuals who have actively consented to cookies, meaning they are only indicative of the total figure. It is probable the number is significantly higher and the split between organic and paid could be different.

Domestic Abuse

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the effective management and monitoring of serial preparators of domestic abuse.

Miss Sarah Dines: In March 2022, we published the cross-Government Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan. The Plan delivers on the 2021 Domestic Abuse Act duty to publish a comprehensive Perpetrator Strategy. It sets out how we will bring more perpetrators to justice and reduce reoffending, including £75 million for tackling perpetrators over three years to fund interventions for perpetrators to disrupt or change their behaviour, evaluation of interventions, and further research to continue to build our understanding of ‘what works’.Over the last three years we have been investing in increasing the availability of interventions for domestic abuse perpetrators, including behaviour change and stalking programmes, and expanding projects such as Drive. We have awarded Police and Crime Commissioners £16.9 million in the last financial year and will soon be launching the next iteration of funding for PCCs.However, we know more needs to be done to robustly manage the most harmful perpetrators of domestic abuse. In the Domestic Abuse Plan we set out our intention to explore options for how best to do this, including through exploring the feasibility of a domestic abuse register. We are currently considering the various options for what form a perpetrator register could take – it is important this is done thoroughly so as not to cause unintended consequences.The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 legislated for a new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice (DAPN) and civil Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO). The new order will be available in all court jurisdictions and breach will be a criminal offence. In addition to prohibitions, the DAPO will be able to impose electronic monitoring requirements and referrals onto perpetrator programmes to help manage repeat offending. DAPNs and DAPOs will be piloted from Spring 2024 test their impact and effectiveness before an expected national roll-out.

Gender Based Violence

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse has been of online advertising for the Enough campaign website in each month for which records are available since that website's launch.

Miss Sarah Dines: ‘Enough’ is the UK Government's landmark campaign to tackle violence against women and girls. It is one of the key commitments in the government’s Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy and uses a range of communications channels to help deliver a generational shift in attitudes and behaviours. The campaign comprises three strands: Challenging perpetrators – to ensure bystanders know how to challenge abuse when they see it, as well as increasing the unacceptability of VAWG behaviours;Educating young people – to establish healthy attitudes and behaviours around VAWG; andSupporting victims – to ensure they know how and where to access support and, where appropriate, to report their experiences. ‘Enough’ was developed in close consultation with over 40 organisations and academics working on this issue, and they have kindly supported and helped to publicise the campaign. Results from the first phase of campaign activity demonstrated strong progress towards achieving the campaign’s ambitions. Online advertising is used on different platforms including social media, search engines, online video, video on demand and digital audio. It aims to achieve a range of objectives, including deepening understanding of different types of violence against women and girls, and demonstrating different methods for safely intervening and disrupting abuse. All online assets are designed to deliver key campaign messages and information without the need to visit the website, so it is not strictly accurate to describe it as ‘online advertising for the ‘Enough’ campaign website’. The website is designed to deepen people’s understanding of violence against women and girls and the different methods for challenging abuse. It also includes a comprehensive summary of different support services, guidance on how to report abuse to the police, and advice for perpetrators who want to change their behaviour after seeing the campaign. The total cost of digital advertising for the Enough campaign - which is intended in part, but not solely, to drive visitors to the campaign website - was £1,198,627. This activity took place over the following months: March 2022 - £620,804October 2022 - £109,133November 2022 - £468,690December 2022 – Costs are still being consolidated

Somaliland: Passports

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of having a passport assessor in Hargeisa.

Robert Jenrick: All applications for British passports are conducted by His Majesty’s Passport Office in the UK. This has removed the fraud risk of transporting blank books to, and safekeeping them in, overseas posts, as well as aligning security checks and fraud assessment processes to those conducted on applications made in the UK.Through economies of scale and use of new technology, HM Passport Office substantially reduced processing costs. This has been passed on to the customer, with an adult overseas passport costing £33 less than when the transition from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office completed in March 2014.

Gender Based Violence

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports of unsafe areas made to the StreetSafe service have (a) been made and (b) resulted in action aimed at making people feel safer in that area.

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Transport Champions for Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls strategy published in March 2022, what steps her Department are taking to implement that report's recommendation to enhance the functions of StreetSafe to allow the reporting of unsafe transport infrastructure; and if she will make a statement.

Miss Sarah Dines: Since the StreetSafe online tool was launched on 2 September 2021 to date (1 December 2022), 22,939 reports have been submitted. The Home Office does not hold information on how many reports have resulted in action. Addressing concerns reported via the tool is an operational matter for the Police and other agencies, such as Local Authorities.StreetSafe has been developed in cooperation with the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). It is managed by the NPCC Digital Public Contact Programme, funded by the Home Office. I can confirm that enhancing StreetSafe to enable reporting of public transport/infrastructure is being considered by policing as a high priority item and timescales will be agreed with the Home Office as part of the Programme’s Grant funding process for 2023/24.

Educational Visits: Personation

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of identity fraud were detected among people entering the UK using the List of Travellers scheme in each of the last five years of its operation.

Jeff Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases were recorded of individuals who had entered the UK using the List of Travellers scheme overstaying or absconding in each of the last five years of its operation.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not hold this data. The UK is no longer part of the List of Travellers scheme.The change means all pupils visiting the UK on a school trip need a passport or travel document issued under the refugee conventions and, if required, a visa.

Migrants: Domestic Abuse

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were granted status under the Destitute Domestic Violence concession in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.

Robert Jenrick: The requested information relating to this specific group of applicants is not available as grants of status under the Destitute Domestic Violence concession are not identified separately in published statistics.

Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will set out the responsibilities of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority for monitoring compliance with (a) recruitment to and (b) employment within the agricultural Seasonal Worker visa scheme.

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that work is available for workers who migrate to the UK on the Agricultural Seasonal Workers visa.

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what redress to recoup migration costs is available to workers who enter the UK on the scheme to be told there is no work available for them.

Robert Jenrick: The Seasonal Worker scheme is an ‘operator led’ immigration route, with four scheme operators selected to manage the placement of workers on UK farms and to ensure their welfare in the UK. This includes ensuring that workers are aware of their employment rights.The Seasonal Worker scheme operators are responsible for managing all aspects of the recruitment and placement of workers on UK farms, and ensure workers have sufficient work as part of their sponsorship duties. The Home Office closely monitors the scheme operators to ensure they are complying with their sponsor duties. Non-compliance with the guidance could result in the revocation of their sponsor license.Seasonal workers receive the same protections under UK law as resident workers, including employment laws. The Home Office and Defra maintain regular contact with scheme operators to ensure that they adhere to the stringent requirements set for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the seasonal workers. All Seasonal Worker Scheme operators are also required to hold a Gangmasters Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) licence, as a condition of maintaining their role as a scheme operator. The responsibilities and remit of the GLAA are set out on their website.

Asylum: Community Development

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to help ensure asylum seekers integrate into local communities.

Robert Jenrick: This Government is committed to ensuring refugees can take positive steps towards integration as they rebuild their lives in the UK. Not all of those who seek asylum are found to be in need of international protection. Rather than invest in integration for those who may not qualify for international protection, this Government’s priority is to focus our efforts and resources to support those who most need it.Under certain circumstances, some asylum seekers are able to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses through the Adult Education Budget. They must be aged 19 or over and have lived in the UK for 6 months or longer while their claim is being considered by the Home Office or be in receipt of certain local authority support.Supported asylum seekers are provided with accommodation where necessary and supported with various matters such as access to healthcare in their local area and ‘Move on’ support (to access mainstream benefits, access employment etc) once they have been granted asylum.

Asylum

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will commission an independent analysis into the effects of her Department's policies on managing asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick: All of our policies in respect of managing asylum seekers are subject to ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

Human Trafficking: France

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when and how she plans to assess the effectiveness of steps taken to tackle criminal people traffickers on the coast of France.

Robert Jenrick: The Government remains committed to tackling Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) and disrupting the Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) responsible. The Government and law enforcement agencies work tirelessly to tackle the criminal networks who facilitate people smuggling from source countries to Europe and then the UK.Tackling people smuggling of all types is a priority for Immigration Enforcement, they work through their international network upstream as well as conduct investigations within the UK to disrupt OCGs. Additionally, the dedicated multi-agency OIC Taskforce, led by the National Crime Agency, is committed to dismantling OCGs engaged in immigration crime internationally. The Taskforce is active in 17 countries worldwide, and its activities include supporting judicial and intelligence capacity building in source and transit countries, and intelligence sharing in key near Europe countries.The tragedies in the Channel over the last year and most recently this week demonstrates the high-risk routes OCGs facilitate. In response to this increasing threat the Home Office, Ministry of Defence, NCA, and UK police forces have increased cooperation with French counterparts to tackle the criminals behind the majority of these crossing attempts and protect lives at sea. Our joint efforts are resulting in continued arrests and prosecutions of these criminals, so that we deter, disrupt and dismantle the networks responsible for facilitating many of these crossings.Since the UK-France Joint Intelligence Cell (JIC) was established in July 2020, 59 organised criminal groups involved in small boats crossings, in France, have been dismantled. In order to counter the small boats threat, we continue to work closely with French law enforcement who have so far during 2022 secured the arrests of 384 suspected people smugglers.

Asylum: Rwanda

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the consequences for the asylum partnership agreement with Rwanda of the number of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel.

Robert Jenrick: The Migration and Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) between the UK and Rwanda is part of a suite of measures aimed at disrupting the business model of organised criminal gangs promoting trips to the UK by dangerous and unlawful routes.Ongoing legal proceedings have prevented relocations to Rwanda taking place to date. Once operational, we will carefully monitor the impacts of the MEDP.

Asylum: National Income

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her European counterparts on the relationship between the number of asylum seekers accepted by a country and the GDP of that country.

Robert Jenrick: The Secretary of State for the Home Department is in regular discussions with her international counterparts, where she discusses a range of matters relating to migration and asylum.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in her Department are working on processing security checks on applicants to the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme Pathway 3 as of 12 December 2022; and what the average number of staff working on those checks has been between 21 June 2022 and 12 December 2022.

Robert Jenrick: We are unable to disclose information on staffing numbers working on security checks.

Migrants: Detainees

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons, A report to the Home Office by Stephen Shaw, published January 2016, what recent progress she has made on implementing Recommendation 51 on an alternative to SystmOne.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made in implementing Recommendation 52 of the Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons by Stephen Shaw on filling of permanent healthcare vaccines in IRCs as a priority.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons, A report to the Home Office by Stephen Shaw, published January 2016, what recent progress she has made on implementing Recommendation 53 on reducing the use of new psychoactive substances.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons, A report to the Home Office by Stephen Shaw, published January 2016, what recent progress she has made on implementing Recommendation 54 on a research strategy for immigration detention.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made in implementing Recommendation 55 of the Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons by Stephen Shaw on the Home Office and NHS England conducting a clinical assessment of the level and nature of mental health concerns in the immigration detention estate.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made in implementing Recommendation 56 of the Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons by Stephen Shaw on the creation of care suites across the IRC estate being taken forward as a priority.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made in implementing Recommendation 57 of the Review into the Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons by Stephen Shaw on talking therapies becoming an intrinsic part of healthcare provision in immigration detention.

Robert Jenrick: Stephen Shaw’s reports (of 2016 and 2018) led to a comprehensive and systematic programme of work to improve and reform immigration detention. It informed both our strategic and tactical approach to reform and the treatment of people who are detained. This work has strengthened our decision-making and safeguards for the vulnerable, ensuring those who are detained are treated with dignity and respect in an estate that is fit for purpose.Progress has been made on all accepted recommendations and I wrote to the MP for Oxford West and Abingdon with more detail on 14 December 2022. A copy of this letter has been placed in the House library for all.

Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre: Inspections

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons entitled Report on an unannounced inspection of Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre, published on 6 December 2022, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the 15 key concerns identified in that report.

Robert Jenrick: The Government has fully considered the recommendations made by HM Chief Inspector of Prison following his recent inspection report of Derwentside immigration removal centre. The Government’s response to the recommendations made, including the actions being taken forward, will be published on the Inspectorate’s website in due course.

Asylum: Housing

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of holding a summit with refugee and migration experts, local authorities and housing providers on potential short- and long-term accommodation options for people seeking asylum.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office already engages with a range of internal and external stakeholders in relation to the provision of support and accommodation to destitute asylum seekers, through a variety of channels. These include the Strategic Migration Partnerships (SMPs) which are Local Government led partnerships funded by, but independent of, the Home Office, whose role is to coordinate and support delivery of national programmes in asylum and refugee schemes as well as agreed, national, regional and devolved migration priorities.The Director of Asylum Support and other senior Home Office officials engage with the Local Government Association (LGA) and UK-wide LA Chief Executives through the Asylum Resettlement Councils Senior Engagement Group (ARCSEG, formerly Home Office Local Government Chief Executive group (HOLGEX)). The Strategic Engagement Groups (SEG) and the associated sub-groups are the Home Office’s (HO) principal engagement forums with external asylum and resettlement Non-Government Organisations (NGO) and voluntary sector stakeholders.We also regularly engage with our accommodation providers to discuss any issues that arise and ensure best practise is always followed. Providers’ performance is monitored closely by dedicated staff in each contract area, who are in daily contact with them. This is supplemented by a formal governance process which includes quarterly Strategic Review Management Boards and monthly Contract Management Groups. Service credits and subsequent improvement plans are discussed and monitored as part of this process.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU Settlement Scheme Applications are waiting for an administrative review to be completed; and what proportion of those applications have waited more than 12 months for a decision.

Robert Jenrick: Information on the age profile of outstanding administrative reviews is not held centrally and is not currently captured in a publishable form.Current timescales for processing administrative review applications are set out on Gov.UK. For applicants challenging EU Settlement Scheme decisions, Gov.UK (EU Settlement Scheme: apply for an administrative review - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) states: ‘It can take 12 months or more to receive the result of your administrative review. If we have not been able to decide your application within 6 months, we’ll contact you to update you on the situation.’

Counter-terrorism and Data Protection

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what impact assessments her Department has conducted in relation to data protection measures and the Prevent duty; and whether her Department requires external agencies to conduct assessments in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 in relation to them adhering to that Duty.

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether data protection is covered in her Department's training on the Prevent Duty as part of its Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent.

Tom Tugendhat: To protect individuals against radicalisation, information may need to be shared with other statutory partners, such as the local authority or police. The Prevent duty guidance makes it clear that this must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.The Home Office has policies and procedures in place to ensure impacts are thoroughly considered on a case-by-case basis, undertaking its statutory duties including Equality Impact Assessments and Data Protection Impact Assessments. The majority of Home Office data is processed under Part 2, General Processing, of the Data Protection Act 2018; however, this can vary.The Prevent duty training offer has recently been updated and is available on gov.uk. Information sharing principles and data protection form a key element of the training courses. This also includes a good practice video and links to other government resources for further advice. Data protection will also feature in our new training offer that will replace the Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent. This is currently in development.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Nicola Richards: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of activities by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the UK.

Tom Tugendhat: We do not routinely comment on operational or intelligence matters, however the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign nations. As we set out in the Integrated Review in 2021, we are committed to addressing growing threats from Iran, as well as other states.Since January, there have been at least ten threats to kidnap or even kill UK-based individuals. Iran has established a pattern of this type of behaviour which is deplorable, yet sadly typical of the regime and its lack of respect for basic rights.The UK Government has long been clear about its concerns over the continued destabilising activity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the UK and overseas. The UK maintains a range of sanctions that work to constrain the destabilising activity of the IRGC. In concert with partners, the UK government will continue to use all tools at its disposal to protect the UK and its overseas interests against any threats from the Iranian state.

Police: Footwear

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer on 2 December 2022 to Question 95914 on Police: Footwear, whether her Department considers boots or similar footwear to be necessary equipment for a front line police officer to carry out their job effectively.

Chris Philp: It is an operational matter for Chief Constables to ensure that the police are provided with the correct equipment and resources they need, including appropriate footwear, in order to carry out their job effectively.Determinations made under the Police Regulations 2003 provide that chief officers shall determine what uniform and equipment is provided.

Passports: Lost Property

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passports were lost by the Passport Office in each year since 2018.

Robert Jenrick: The data held for secure delivery services does not break down losses by passports only.The table below shows the passports and supporting documents confirmed as lost in the possession of providers of secure delivery services as a percentage of applications received in each year from 2018: UKOverseasYear% of passports and supporting documents lost % of passports and supporting documents lost* 20180.006%0.020%20190.002%0.017%20200.002%0.013%20210.009%0.036%2022 0.006% **0.030% *** * The data held does not distinguish between items confirmed as ‘lost’, and those that declared as ‘stolen’.** Data currently held from 1 January to 30 September.*** Data currently held from 1 January to 31 October.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Social Rented Housing: Evictions

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of people who required social housing in (a) the last year and (b) in 2017 due to being issued a section 21 notice whilst living in private sector accommodation.

Felicity Buchan: The Department does not have data on the number of people requiring social housing due to being issued a section 21 notice.Ensuring a fair deal for renters remains a priority for this government, and we will legislate in this Parliament to abolish section 21 'no fault' evictions.

Local Government: Standards

Dr Kieran Mullan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure that local authorities have sufficient resources to deliver local services.

Lee Rowley: The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to an additional £5 billion to councils. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2023/24 of 9% in cash terms compared to 2022/23.We will continue to work with local authorities to understand both the challenges and opportunities they have, along with the level of taxpayer subsidy which can be provided, in the future.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Theft

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many of his Department's (a) laptops, (b) mobile phones, (c) memory sticks and (d) external hard drives have been lost or stolen in each of the last five years.

Dehenna Davison: I refer the Hon Member to the answer given in response to Question UIN 89643 on 16 December 2021.

Local Government Finance

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that central Government funding for local authority projects is clearly declared as such by the local authority.

Dehenna Davison: Government branding will be applied across all new general grant schemes, including those administered by local authorities.

Regional Planning and Development

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of rising (a) interest rates and (b) inflation on trends in the level of regional inequality.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what progress his Department has made on meeting the twelve Levelling Up missions.

Dehenna Davison: It is because we are concerned about the impact of inflation and increases in interest rates that the Autumn Statement protected the most vulnerable by uprating benefits and pensions with inflation, strengthening the energy price guarantee, and providing cost of living payments.We will report on progress towards delivering the missions through an annual report laid before parliament.

Levelling Up Fund

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to provide funds to local authorities who have been successful in their levelling up bids.

Dehenna Davison: Successful applicants to the first round of the Levelling Up Fund have received £242 million to date, with a further payment planned this financial year in January.

Landlords: Government Assistance

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to provide additional support to landlords following the ban on Section 21 evictions.

Felicity Buchan: The Government recognises the vital role that good landlords play in providing homes for millions of people across the country. The white paper, 'A fairer private rented sector', sets out the government's plans to deliver a fairer deal for renters by abolishing section 21, while supporting the majority of good landlords operating in the sector. This includes introducing comprehensive, fair and efficient grounds to ensure landlords have confidence they can regain possession when it is reasonable.When court action is needed for landlords to gain possession of their property, the courts should provide fair and efficient access to justice. We are working with the Ministry of Justice, the Judiciary and HM Courts and Tribunal Service to introduce improvements to make the possession process much more efficient for landlords.

Private Rented Housing: Cost of Living

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to improve private renter security during the cost of living crisis.

Felicity Buchan: We will introduce a Renters Reform Bill in this parliament which will fulfil our manifesto commitment of abolishing Section 21 'no fault' evictions.

Temporary Accommodation: Children

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of children in temporary accommodation.

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help support people who are sleeping rough this winter.

Felicity Buchan: Further to my answer to Question UIN 94905 on 1 December, over 180,000 families with dependent children have been supported to secure accommodation since the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2018.We also published our strategy 'Ending Rough Sleeping for Good' in September 2022 and this is available here: Ending Rough Sleeping For Good. The strategy sets out cross government action and how we are investing £2 billion over the next three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

Social Rented Housing: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the campaign by Social Housing Action Campaign entitled Social Landlord Disability Charter Scheme.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the responsiveness of social landlords to reasonable adjustment requests from disabled tenants.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to take steps to strengthen the existing powers that social housing regulators have to enforce (a) reasonable adjustment requests and (b) compliance with the Equality Act 2010.

Dehenna Davison: This Government is clear that all residents deserve to receive high-quality services and are treated with dignity and respect by social housing staff.Landlords are required to make reasonable adjustments for tenants who meet the Equality Act’s definition of disability. The Regulator of Social Housing’s Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard requires registered providers to treat all tenants with fairness and respect and to demonstrate they understand the different needs of their tenants. Landlords must pay due regard to tenants’ needs in the way they provide services, including in relation to the equality strands and additional support needs.By law local authorities must give those who need to move for medical and welfare reasons priority for an allocation of social housing. In 2020/21, a fifth (20%) of new social housing lettings were to households with specific disability-related housing needs (such as wheelchair access, mobility aids, or adaptations relating to visual/hearing impairment), an increase of 2% from 2019/20.The Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG), administered by local housing authorities, can help fund home adaptations for eligible older and disabled tenants. DLUHC funds a National Body for Home Improvement Agencies, which provides information and advice on DFG applications.

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Pay

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps his Department has taken to help resolve pay disputes in the civil service.

Jeremy Quin: I met with the General Secretaries of the FDA, PCS and Prospect trade unions on 22 November 2022 and they have also met senior officials including the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Chief People Officer.The Cabinet Office is responsible for the pay remit guidance which provides a framework within which all departments will set pay. For grades below the Senior Civil Service, pay awards are made by individual departments and discussed with their trade unions, where separate dispute resolution arrangements will also exist.

Lord Lebedev

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions the Prime Minister had with Lord Lebedev on 21 May 2022; where they met; whether (a) officials and (b) advisers were present; whether minutes were taken of the meeting; and whether his Department holds any other records about the meeting.

Jeremy Quin: Since July 2011, on the initiative of the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, the Government has published in its Ministerial transparency data details of meetings with senior media executives, including not only official meetings, but social and political meetings.As outlined in the transparency return for the Q2 2022 period, this was a social meeting. The Government does not hold details of such informal, non-governmental meetings.I would observe that since 2016, it is the Labour Party which has stopped publishing transparency data on frontbench meetings with senior media executives, breaking a commitment made during the Leveson Inquiry.

Football: Qatar

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much was spent by the GREAT campaign on advertising and other promotional activity at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar between 1 November and 20 December 2022.

Jeremy Quin: Cabinet Office publishes expenditure, including on the GREAT campaign, on a rolling monthly basis on gov.uk as part of routine government transparency arrangements. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-spend-data.

Civil Servants: Recruitment

Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the Recruiting for vacancies requiring National Security Vetting clearance: code of practice; whether he has made a recent estimate of the (a) number and (b) proportion of vacancies advertised that do not comply with the code of practice; and what recourse applicants have if they are unable to apply for an advertised vacancy which does not comply with the code of practice.

Jeremy Quin: The code of practice is in place to ensure that those who do not already hold National Security Vetting are not at a disadvantage when applying for a role in the Civil Service.Whilst the Cabinet Office does not currently collect data on the number or proportion of vacancies advertised that do not comply with the code of practice, the government aims to reduce non-compliance.Candidates unable to apply for an advertised vacancy which does not comply with the National Security Vetting Code of Practice may raise a complaint with the recruiting department in the first instance. If they remain dissatisfied and the vacancy was advertised publicly, they may bring their complaint to the Civil Service Commission on the basis they feel the selection for appointment has not met the requirements of the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. In open competitions anyone who wishes must be allowed to apply.

Public Sector: Crimes of Violence

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to tackle (a) intimidation, (b) harassment and (c) violence directed towards public servants.

Jeremy Quin: The Civil Service is committed to creating a safe and supportive work environment for all its employees and does not tolerate any form of unacceptable behaviour or abuse towards an employee. Those found to be bullying, harassing, discriminating, or violent towards employees or customers can face disciplinary procedures including charges of gross misconduct, leading to dismissal.Civil Service HR (CSHR) have provided a suite of products to support departments in managing bullying, harassment and violence in the workplace and by third parties, including Media Attention Guidance which sets out the responsibilities for handling instances of unwanted, intrusive or aggressive media attention.Departments have their own guidance on dealing with unacceptable customer behaviour including handling situations of - for example - assault against staff. In every incident that involves violence or a targeted threat of violence towards civil servants the police are notified and appropriate action taken.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: Japan

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to Article 23.4 of the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, whether the UK and Japan have established any ad hoc working groups under the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to Article 23.4 of the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, whether the UK and Japan have established any ad hoc technical working groups under the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to Article 23.4 of the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, whether the UK and Japan have established any ad hoc working groups under the Committee on Regulatory Cooperation.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to Article 23.4 of the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, whether the UK and Japan have established an Animal Welfare Technical Working Group under the Joint Committee.

Greg Hands: Under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the UK and Japan may establish, if necessary, ad hoc technical working groups under certain specialised committees. To date, the UK and Japan have not established ad hoc technical working groups under the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, the Committee on Regulatory Cooperation or established an Animal Welfare Technical Working Group under the Joint Committee.

WTO Committee on Trade and the Environment

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will provide details her Department holds on the programme and priorities of the World’s Trade Organization’s Trade and Environment Group; and if she will make a statement.

Greg Hands: The UK is an active member of the World Trade Organization’s Committee on Trade and Environment, currently chaired by the UK’s ambassador Simon Manley. Through this group, we are enhancing transparency, defending UK policy interests and promoting consensus on best practice alongside other members. The UK is also participating in ambitious plurilateral groups such as the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution, the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform Initiative, and the Trade and Environmentally Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) where we are advocating for collective agreement to remove barriers and lower costs on environmental goods, and find solutions to help mitigate carbon leakage risk.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Personal Records: Data Protection

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to provide legal protections to UK citizens personal data that may be intercepted by large, US companies.

Julia Lopez: Under UK law, all organisations in the UK that process personal information have to ensure that high standards of data protection are maintained when personal data is transferred overseas.DCMS is working with the US Government to put in place a durable UK-US Data Bridge that upholds the UK’s high standards of data protection.Earlier this year, the ICO issued the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement to help organisations safely transfer personal data across borders.The United States and the UK are also collaborating on a bilateral innovation prize challenge focused on advancing privacy-enhancing technologies to help mature and facilitate adoption of these technologies.